Stacks (STX) price rallies 195% after revealing plans to bring DeFi to Bitcoin

July 22, 2021 Coin Telegraph

STX price rallied 195% after the introduction of smart contracts enabled the launch of DeFi and NFTs on the Bitcoin network.

Ethereum (ETH) is currently the leader when it comes to smart contract capabilities and the sheer number of projects operating on its network, but the push to build products on Bitcoin (BTC) is gaining traction with advocates like Square CEO Jack Dorsey spearheading the effort to bring decentralized finance (DeFi) to the Bitcoin network.

One project aiming to combine the features of DeFi with the security of the Bitcoin network is Stacks (STX), a layer-one blockchain protocol designed to bring smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps) to the Bitcoin network.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since dropping to a low of $0.50 on June 22, STX price rallied 195% to $1.47 on July 11 and now that Bitcoin has shown some bullish momentum, STX price is moving higher again with a 10% gain on July 22.

*STX/USDT 4-hour chart. Source:* *TradingView*

Three reasons for the recent strength in STX include the release of the Clarity programming language which brought smart contracts to Stacks 2.0 and Bitcoin, the ability for STX holders to stake tokens for BTC rewards and the arrival of DeFi and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to the Bitcoin network.

Smart contracts come to Bitcoin

The introduction of the Clarity programming language on Stacks has been the main catalyst of growth for the Stacks ecosystem because it enabled the creation of smart contracts on the Bitcoin network.

I hear this smart contracts for Bitcoin thing might be, maybe, sort of a big deal.@Stacks
— muneeb.btc (@muneeb) July 8, 2021

Clarity claims to be a “decidable language” which means that “you can know, with certainty, from the code itself what the program will do.”

The main difference between Clarity and other smart contract languages is its decidable language, which is not Turning complete, and the fact that the language is interpreted and broadcast on the blockchain as is, rather than being compiled, which “ensures that the executed code is human-readable and auditable.”

The collaboration between the two networks means popular sectors like DeFi and NFTs now have a way to operate and be recorded on the Bitcoin network without needing to worry about slow transaction times and increased costs.

STX holders can earn BTC by staking

Stacks recently rolled out STX staking for holders and this enables them to earn BTC as a reward.

The Stacks network uses a novel mining protocol called proof-of-transfer (PoX), which runs in parallel to Bitcoin and uses the BTC network as a reliable broadcast medium for its block headers.

While most proof-of-stake networks offer staking rewards paid out in the native token, members of the Stacks community can stake their STX tokens to earn BTC at an average rate of 10%.

This represents one of the few opportunities across the crypto space where a token holder can stake their tokens and earn BTC as a reward.

DeFi and NFTs come to Bitcoin

On July 10 STX created and sold the first-ever Bitcoin NFT from the Stacks blockchain.

Historic moment for #Bitcoin

Cara Delevingne’s “Mine”, the first ever Bitcoin #NFT to be minted and auctioned on the #Stacks blockchain has sold for 18000 STX. $21000 at current prices

Cost to mint and transfer “Mine” was just 0.0007 #STX or $0.001https://t.co/hjJRZwGPgR
— Jim.btc (@iCrypto_) July 10, 2021

The event was meant to mark the beginning of a new era of smart contracts on Bitcoin and additional bullish news revealed that USD Coin (USDC) will expand to the Stacks network. This prompted some pundits to cite the Bitcoin Law which states that “successful experiments in crypto will eventually come to Bitcoin.”

The arrival of NFT and DeFi capabilities have also introduced new ways to leverage these popular sectors to earn a yield in BTC and this has the potential to attract new participants.

As a result of these developments, momentum for STX has been on the rise in July as evidenced by an increase in price and 24-hour trading volume.

VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro began to detect a bullish outlook for STX on July 19, prior to the recent price rise.

The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.

*VORTECS™ Score (green) vs. STX price. Source:* *Cointelegraph Markets Pro*

As seen on the chart above, the VORTECS™ Score for STX climbed into the green on July 19 and reached a high of 70 roughly 34 hours before the price rallied 42% over the next two days.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Circle K convenience stores will host thousands of crypto ATMs

July 22, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

Despite suspending service to some crypto ATMs during the early days of the pandemic, Bitcoin Depot has continued to expand.

The largest Bitcoin ATM operator in the world has said it will be expanding into Circle K locations in the United States and Canada.

Bitcoin Depot announced today that more than 700 of its Bitcoin ATM machines had already been installed at Circle K convenience stores in 30 U.S. states as part of the new partnership. The crypto ATM distributer said the expansion could provide underserved communities with financial access tools and attract more people to the crypto space.

“Over the last year, we have watched cryptocurrency gain mainstream adoption by wealth managers and investment firms, but what about the people that don't have access to those services?” Bitcoin Depot’s director of product Alona Lubovnaya told Cointelegraph. “ATMs being located in Circle K's provide an easy onramp for the underbanked and less affluent, not just someone with a wealth manager.”

The company claims to have more than 3,500 crypto ATMs in operation across the U.S. and Canada allowing customers to purchase more than 30 different types of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), and Ether (ETH). Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Canada-based operator of Circle K, reports that its brand operates roughly 7,150 stores in the U.S. and 2,111 in Canada.

Bitcoin Depot announced last year that it was suspending service to certain machines in areas at high risk during the ongoing pandemic. The company has since reported that it has restored service to all locations, despite the recent rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United States.

The number of crypto ATMs across the globe allowing customers to exchange fiat for crypto has grown significantly in recent years. At the time of publication, data from CoinATMRadar shows there are roughly 24,000 crypto ATMs in 75 countries, from Kazakhstan to Australia. The majority — more than 20,000 — are in the United States.

“Our mission is to Bring Crypto to the Masses,” said Lubovnaya. “We will continue to do this with significant partner expansions going forward.”

Elon Musk says Bitcoin may have already hit his benchmark on renewable energy

July 21, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin mining

"I want to do a little more diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50% and that there is a trend towards increasing that number," said the Tesla CEO.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has hinted that the crypto industry is on its way toward greener future, but Tesla won’t be accepting Bitcoin payments just yet.

Speaking at "The ₿ Word" — a virtual Bitcoin (BTC) event with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood and moderator Steve Lee from Square Crypto — Musk said that Tesla would “most likely” consider resuming crypto payments for its vehicles — a policy the CEO said the company would be stopping in May — but said he needed to exercise diligence before making a decision.

“There appears to be a positive trend in the energy usage of Bitcoin,” said Musk, alsexpressing skepticism at the speed at which the network had moved towards green energy sources. “There’s just no way you could basically double or triple the amount of energy in such a short period of time with renewables [...] Tesla’s mission is accelerating sustainable energy. We can’t be the company that does that and not do appropriate diligence on the energy usage of Bitcoin.”

He added:

“It looks like Bitcoin is shifting a lot more towards renewables and a bunch of the heavy duty coal plants that were unequivocally being used have been shut down, especially in China. I want to do a little more diligence to confirm that the percentage of renewable energy usage is most likely at or above 50% and that there is a trend towards increasing that number. If so, Tesla will resume accepting Bitcoin.”

In May, Musk announced that Tesla would no longer accept Bitcoin payments due to the network’s “increasingly rapid use of fossil fuels.” The price of the crypto asset subsequently fell under $40,000 for the first time since February. The Tesla CEO later clarified that the company would resume BTC transactions when there was confirmation miners were using more than 50% clean energy “with positive future trend.”

Musk also addressed some of the allegations from professionals that he had orchestrated a pump-and-dump scheme given his social media posts on cryptocurrencies including BTC and Dogecoin (DOGE). He said the only three assets “of any significance” that he owned outside of SpaceX and Tesla stock were BTC, DOGE, and Ether (ETH), and that neither he nor Tesla had sold any Bitcoin since the announcement stopping crypto payments.

“If the price of Bitcoin goes down, I lose money,” said Musk:

“I might pump, but I don’t dump. I definitely do not believe in getting the price high and selling it or anything like that.”

As Cointelegraph reported, Musk said in April that Tesla had sold a portion of its Bitcoin holdings — with net proceeds of roughly $272 million at the time — to prove the asset’s liquidity as an alternative to cash. He has not revealed how much of the crypto asset he personally owns, but said even his one-year-old son owns some Dogecoin.

First Midwest Bank Trust Division increases Grayscale Bitcoin Trust holdings by 283%

July 8, 2021 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin investment trust

A report on the firm's holdings to the SEC for Q2 2021 revealed the bank's trust division had 29,498 shares in Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, worth more than $880,000.

Illinois-based financial services company First Midwest Bank’s trust division has reported it held 29,498 shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust as of the second quarter of 2021.

According to an institutional investment manager holdings report filed by the First Midwest Bank Trust Division to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company increased its shares of Grayscale’s Bitcoin (BTC) Trust by more than 283% over that of the first quarter of 2021, from 7,693 shares at the end of March to 29,498 shares in two separate lots on June 30.

First Midwest reported the holdings were worth $880,000 at the time of filing, but they have since fallen to roughly $803,000. The share price of Grayscale's BTC Trust, or GBTC, has dropped by more than 22% this year, from $35.08 on Jan. 4 to $27.18 at the time of publication. The asset has been trading at a roughly 15 to 20% discount to its Bitcoin holdings.

Cointelegraph reported yesterday that major institutional investment managers were still seemingly showing confidence in cryptocurrency despite recent volatility. Nickel Digital CEO Anatoly Crachilov said 19 listed companies with a market cap of more than $1 trillion “had around $6.5 billion” currently invested in Bitcoin. First Midwest holds $14 billion in assets under management, so its GBTC shares represent less than 0.006% of its AUM.

Grayscale is expected to “unlock” more than 16,000 Bitcoin related to its BTC trust on July 18. Though the investment manager regularly unlocks such funds, the event scheduled in less than two weeks is expected to be the largest, with 16,240 BTC becoming available, or roughly $536 million at the time of publication.

Argentine lawmaker introduces bill for workers to be paid in crypto

July 7, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Argentina

The proposal may help Argentinians in the export business avoid heavy taxes from foreign currency payments.

A member of the lower house of the Argentine National Congress has introduced legislation that would allow certain workers in the country to receive some or all of their salary in crypto.

In a Tuesday tweet, Argentine Chamber of Deputies member José Luis Ramón said his proposed crypto bill would apply to anyone working as an “exporter of services” and those who depend on an employer for income. Should the legislation pass, it would allow such workers the choice of receiving a full or partial salary in crypto or Argentine pesos.

“The idea is that [workers] can strengthen their autonomy and retain the purchasing power of their remuneration,” said Ramón. “This initiative stems from the need to promote greater autonomy and governance of wages, without this implying a loss of rights or exposure to situations of abuse within the framework of the employment relationship.”

According to local news outlet La Nueva Mañana, workers who provide services abroad such as exporting would not necessarily need to convert their crypto income to Argentine pesos as they do with other foreign currencies. Law 27,541, passed by the Argentine National Congress in December 2019, established a 30% tax on foreign currency, but Bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens may not fall within this legal framework.

The crypto bill must be passed by both the Argentine Chamber of Deputies and the Senate before being sent to President Alberto Fernández for approval. Ramón is one of ten congresspeople representing the province of Mendoza, and the leader of the 6-person Federal Unity for Development alliance among three political parties. However, there are 257 members in the legislative house and 72 senators. Everybody's Front and Together for Change are the two dominant alliances in the congress.

The proposed bill comes as some lawmakers in Central and South American countries are pushing for regulatory clarity or outright adoption of crypto. Last month, El Salvador passed a law making Bitcoin legal tender, legislation that will go into effect on Sept. 7. Congresspeople in both Brazil and Panama have indicated through social media channels they would push for forms of legislation supporting crypto.

US state dept urges El Salvador to be ‘responsible’ about Bitcoin adoption

July 1, 2021 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin news

Victoria Nuland said the United States was taking a "tough look at Bitcoin" following a major ransomware attack and suggested El Salvador take a similar approach.

The U.S. Department of State’s Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said El Salvador should ensure Bitcoin is well regulated under its new legal framework.

In a Wednesday press conference following a meeting with President Nayib Bukele, Nuland said the United States was taking a “tough look at Bitcoin” following the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline and suggested El Salvador take a similar approach. The country passed a law in June making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender, legislation that will go into effect on Sept. 7.

"I did suggest to the President that whatever Salvador chooses to do with regards to Bitcoin, you ensure that it is well regulated, that it is transparent and that it is responsible, and you protect yourself against malign actors," said Nuland.

#ElSalvador
Victoria Nuland aseguró que en su reunión con el presidente @nayibbukele conversaron sobre la implementación del #Bitcoin como moneda de curso legal en el país.

Vía @cardozaTCS. pic.twitter.com/NsWmqsY3u0
— TCS Noticias (@tcsnoticias) July 1, 2021

Nuland’s meeting with the President as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexandra Hill Tinoco was scheduled as part of a visit to El Salvador, Paraguay and Panama at the end of June to discuss migration, democracy, and regional goals.

However, it seems crypto may have been part of the planned agenda. U.S. officials including President Joe Biden have made public statements addressing ransomware attacks on critical infrastructure after the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack caused gas hoarding and shortages in certain areas of the United States.

The discussion on Bitcoin between U.S. and El Salvador officials comes as the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, is speaking with lawmakers in the Central America country regarding a loan to support the local economy. The U.S. State Department reportedly supports the financial agreement, though the IMF has expressed concerns over the country’s recent adoption of Bitcoin, saying the move “raises a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require very careful analysis.”

Mexico may not be following El Salvador’s example on Bitcoin… yet

June 28, 2021 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin news

A warning from the country's financial regulators seemed to be specifically targeting Ricardo Salinas Pliego, who on Sunday said he would explore his bank accepting Bitcoin.

Authorities behind financial regulation in Mexico have warned against financial institutions handling cryptocurrencies, saying digital assets are still not considered legal tender in the country.

In a Monday press conference, representatives from Mexico’s finance ministry, the Bank of Mexico, and the National Banking and Securities Commission issued a joint statement warning investors virtual assets carried inherent risks as a medium of exchange and store of value. They added that any financial institution based in Mexico is “not authorized to carry out and offer to the public operations with virtual assets,” specifically mentioning Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and XRP.

The country’s financial regulators and central bank seemed to be targeting Ricardo Salinas Pliego regarding his recent Bitcoin announcement. The third richest person in Mexico said on Sunday that he was exploring the possibility his bank, Banco Azteca, would accept Bitcoin in an apparent effort to promote widespread adoption.

However, finance minister Arturo Herrera said financial systems in Mexico are prohibited from using cryptocurrencies, a policy that was unlikely to change in the near future. The authorities added that they would follow the evolution of cryptocurrency as well as the potential uses of its underlying technology, but still referred to digital assets as volatile, speculative, and a less effective medium of exchange than fiat.

While Mexico is taking a seemingly strong anti-crypto stance, its neighbors have done the opposite by promoting crypto as a valid currency and encouraging businesses to accept Bitcoin. Earlier this month, El Salvador passed legislation declaring Bitcoin would be accepted as legal tender, while Paraguayan congressperson Carlos Rejala said he would be introducing a similar bill in his country’s national parliament on July 14.

Though at least two lawmakers in Mexico promoted proposing a legal framework for crypto following El Salvador’s move, the announcement from financial regulators Monday suggests some authorities are still hesitant about the idea. Last year, the head of Mexico’s finance ministry’s financial intelligence unit reported that cartels had been increasing their use of crypto to launder funds and said the country’s law enforcement lacked the resources needed to tackle money laundering when crypto was involved.

Nigerian secondary school will accept crypto payments despite regulatory uncertainty

June 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

"We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money,” said school director Sabi’u Musa Haruna.

A private secondary school based near the Nigerian city of Kano has announced it will be accepting payments for school fees in cryptocurrency amid the country’s central bank banning financial institutions providing services to crypto exchanges.

According to a Thursday report from local news outlet Kano Focus, the director of the New Oxford Science Academy in the Kano suburb of Chiranchi will allow students to pay for tuition fees in crypto. Sabi’u Musa Haruna, who started working at the school in 2017, urged the Nigerian government to embrace and regulate cryptocurrency, but seemed to imply he would not wait with this latest move.

“We’ve decided to accept cryptocurrency as school fees, because the world today is tilting towards the system,” said Haruna. “We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money.”

Haruna cited the examples of countries like El Salvador and Tanzania expanding payment options for crypto users. The Latin American nation will begin to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender across the country starting on Sept. 7 following the passage of a pro-crypto bill. Across the glo Tanzania’s central bank announced today it had begun working on directives from the government that could eventually overturn the country’s ban on crypto.

The school director did not explicitly say which tokens would be accepted for payment. However, public interest for Bitcoin in Nigeria has often been stronger than that in other countries — according to data from Google Trends, the African country ranks first among searches for BTC, with Austria, Turkey, and Switzerland in a close race for second.

In February, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced in a circular that it had banned regulated financial institutions in the country from providing services to crypto exchanges. Though the policy warned of "severe regulatory sanctions" for any bank that failed to close accounts belonging to exchanges, governor Godwin Emefiele clarified in March that the ban was intended to “prohibit transactions on cryptocurrencies in the banking sector” rather than discourage individuals from dealing in digital assets.

Many lawmakers and people connected to Nigeria’s central bank have been pushing pro-crypto messages in the months following the ban. Emefiele said in May that “digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria” while the central bank later announced plans to launch a CBDC by 2022.

Elon Musk agrees to speak with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey at Bitcoin event

June 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin news

Dorsey offered to let Musk share all his curiosities about crypto and otherwise at the July 21 event.

Tesla CEO and Dogecoin enthusiast Elon Musk may be speaking at an event aimed at educating institutional investors on Bitcoin.

In a Twitter discussion with Jack Dorsey overnight, Musk agreed to speak at The ₿ Word, a July 21 virtual event hosted by the Crypto Council for Innovation and featuring major players in the crypto space.

“As more companies and institutions get into the mix, we all want to help protect and spread what makes #bitcoin open development so perfect,” said Dorsey. “This day is focused on education and actions to do just that.”

Musk responded to Dorsey with a sexual innuendo — he has seemingly never been shy about sharing such material — before agreeing to virtually sit down with him and discuss Bitcoin at the event.

Featured speakers at the event include Dorsey; Wood; Blockstream founder Adam Back; Michael Morell, former acting and deputy director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency; and John Newbery, director of Brink — a nonprofit focused on supporting Bitcoin (BTC) development. The organizers have said the event is intended to “destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin.”

In March, Musk made waves in the crypto space — and may have largely contributed to a BTC price surge — when he announced Tesla had added $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin to its balance sheet and would start to accept the crypto asset as a form of payment for the electric vehicles. However, in May the Tesla CEO posted a tweet highlighting his concerns about Bitcoin’s energy usage and saying the company would no longer consider Bitcoin payments.

It’s unclear what effect a discussion with Dorsey or other major crypto players may have on Bitcoin policy at Tesla or for Musk personally. The Tesla CEO said earlier this month he would reconsider adding Bitcoin transactions at the firm “when there’s confirmation of reasonable (~50%) clean energy usage by miners with positive future trend.”

At the time of publication, the price of Bitcoin $32,805, having fallen 3.5% in the last 24 hours.

Major players will speak at a new Bitcoin event aimed at institutional investors

June 24, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Ark Invest

Featured speakers include Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Blockstream founder Adam Back, and Ark Invest's Cathie Wood.

The Crypto Council for Innovation is hosting a virtual event on July 21 aimed to “destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin.”

According to a Thursday announcement, Square, Ark Invest, and Paradigm are backing The ₿ Word, an event on “how institutions can embrace Bitcoin.” The project scheduled for launch next month will offer featured speakers including Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Blockstream founder Adam Back, Ark Invest's Cathie Wood, former acting and deputy director of the CIA Michael Morell, and John Newbery, director of Brink — a nonprofit focused on supporting Bitcoin development.

“The ₿ Word is a Bitcoin focused initiative that aims to demystify and destigmatize mainstream narratives about Bitcoin, explain how institutions can and should embrace it, and raise awareness around areas of the network that need support,” said the project.

Formed in April, the Crypto Council for Innovation, or CCI, is an alliance of crypto-friendly firms including Coinbase, Square, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paradigm. The group was created to give companies a better means to lobby lawmakers on crypto and blockchain regulation.

“Bitcoin is a positive force in the world because it increases financial access and opportunity, but the complexity that makes its network so powerful also makes it difficult to understand at first," said Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang. "We hope this initiative helps the investment community and policymakers better understand how transformative a moment we're in right now."

At the time of publication, the event lists five sessions to be available on July 21, with an additional live panel with Dorsey, Wood, and others on Bitcoin As A Tool For Economic Empowerment. Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter and MIT Digital Currency Initiative director Neha Narula will also be speaking in the online sessions.

Many experts have posited that institutional investors would help drive mainstream interest in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, in addition to potentially helping its price. Data from banking giant JPMorgan in May, however, suggest that retail investors may be purchasing more BTC using platforms like PayPal and Square than institutions.

bitcoin news

Smart contracts come to Bitcoin

STX holders can earn BTC by staking

DeFi and NFTs come to Bitcoin

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