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Key altcoin season metric in accumulation mode as Bitcoin dominance peaks

Altcoins are in accumulation territory after experiencing a drawdown over the last 3 months.

The altcoin market is currently at the “reaccumulation stage,” which, after reclaiming a key support area, could move on to the “second leg of the cycle,” according to crypto traders. 

“Altcoins are only up 58% since they broke out after 525 days of accumulation,” independent crypto trader Mags said in part of their July 25 post on X.

The accumulation stage occurs when the market has bottomed out, and prices hit local bottoms, as reflected by a 33% drop of TOTAL2 (total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies, excluding Bitcoin) since March 11. It is marked by a period of relative stability, where investors buy on the dips in anticipation of future price increases.

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Michael Saylor ups Bitcoin price forecast to $13 million in mega-bullish keynote — Bitcoin 2024

"Triple maxi" Bitcoin bulls could earn a net worth of $214 million by 2045, Saylor said.

Michael Saylor, the outspoken co-founder of business intelligence company MicroStrategy, predicted Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $13 million per coin by 2045 during a mega-bullish keynote speech on July 26 at the Bitcoin 2024 conference.

Saylor's forecast — which upgrades his $10 million estimate in June  — is only a base case. “It could be a $3 million bear case, it could be a $49 million bull case,” according to Saylor, who urged listeners at the Nashville, Tennessee event to become “triple maxi” Bitcoin bulls. 

Related: Bitcoin offers ‘economic immortality,’ will reach $10M per coin — Michael Saylor

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Blackrock foresees “very little interest” in crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum — Bitcoin2024

Clients see Bitcoin and Ethereum as complements, not substitutes, in crypto portfolios, according to Blackrock's head of digital assets.

Asset manager Blackrock sees “very little interest” among clients in crypto beyond Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) and doesn’t foresee many crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) outside of those two core digital assets, according to Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, speaking at the Bitcoin2024 conference on July 25 in Nashville, Tennessee. 

“I would say that our client base today, their interest overwhelmingly is in Bitcoin first, and then somewhat in ETH… and there’s very little interest today beyond those two,” Mitchnick said at a panel entitled From Strategy to Innovation: BlackRock's Bitcoin Journey.

“I don't think we're gonna see a long list of crypto ETFs,” Mitchnick said. Blackrock launched its first crypto exchange-traded funds — iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) — in January and July, respectively.

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VanEck says Bitcoin could hit $2.9 million per coin by 2050

Bitcoin Layer-2s could be collectively worth around $7.6 trillion, the report added.

Investment manager VanEck foresees Bitcoin (BTC) potentially hitting $61 trillion in total market capitalization — or some $2.9 million per coin — in 2050 as a result of massive demand for the decentralized currency as collateral for trade settlement and a reserve for central banks, according to a July 24 report

“It is conceivable that by 2050 Bitcoin could be used to settle 10% of the globe’s international trade and 5% of the world’s domestic trade,” VanEck said in the report. “This scenario would result in central banks holding 2.5% of their assets in BTC.”

VanEck adds that scaling solutions for Bitcoin’s blockchain network — Bitcoin Layer-2s — could collectively be worth approximately $7.6 trillion, or around 12% of BTC’s total value.

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Fireblocks launches Web3 startup toolkit amid a surge in new ventures

The number of startups using the Web3 platform has already increased by some 50%, according to Fireblocks.

Fireblocks, the Web3 infrastructure platform, launched a suite of tools specifically designed for startups amid a proliferation of early-stage blockchain ventures, according to a July 25 press release. 

The toolkit — Fireblocks for Startups — is designed to help startups quickly build and launch Web3 products and includes solutions for treasury management, self-custody, private key storage, and secure digital asset transfers, the company said.

“The short history of crypto shows that successful projects — whether crypto exchanges, DeFi bridges, or NFT platforms — go through periods of hypergrowth during market upswings, with development teams focused solely on maintaining front-end stability while neglecting security in the process,” Idan Ofrat, Co-founder & Chief Product Officer of Fireblocks, said in a statement.

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Coinbase UK fined $4.5 million for ‘high-risk’ customer onboarding

The $4.5 million fine could signal the start of more scrutiny for crypto exchanges in the region.

Coinbase’s United Kingdom arm was fined $4.5 million by a British regulator for breaching a voluntary agreement related to user onboarding.

In 2020, CB Payments Limited (CBPL), part of the Coinbase Group, entered a voluntary agreement with Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that would prevent it from onboarding customers considered ‘high risk’ by the regulator.

Yet, CBPL has allegedly onboarded 13,416 customers that the FCA considered high-risk, and offered cryptocurrency services to them, which was also prohibited by the agreement. The British regulator fined Coinbase Group’s CBPL 3,503,546 pounds ( $4.5 million), for “repeatedly breaching” the agreement.

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BlackRock Bitcoin ETF inflows surpass ‘magnificent 7’ stocks as trader eyes $88K

Bitcoin price could reach above the $88,000 mark by September, driven by continued Bitcoin ETF inflows.

Inflows into BlackRock’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) have exceeded those into the “magnificent seven” stocks in 2024, putting BTC price on track for $88,000 by September.

BlackRocks’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF has accumulated nearly $19 billion of Bitcoin (BTC) year-to-date (YTD).

These "baffling" inflows are greater than those of the “magnificent seven” stocks in 2024, according to Jeroen Blockalnd, the founder of Blockland Smart Asset Fund, who wrote in a July 23 X post:

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Crypto Super PAC spends $1.7M on media buys as Arizona primary looms

Protect Progress used roughly $415,000 to fund a media buy for former Aspiration CEO Andrei Cherny, a Democrat running for Congress in Arizona’s 1st District.

Protect Progress, a political action committee (PAC) affiliated with Fairshake and backed by crypto companies, has thrown at least $1.7M behind two Democratic candidates running for Congress in Arizona. 

Cointelegraph reported on July 18 that Protect Progress disseminated more than $1.3 million in a media buy to support Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat competing for a seat representing Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District. In addition, a July 20 filing with the Federal Election Commission showed the Super PAC used roughly $415,000 as part of a media buy for Andrei Cherny, who is running in the state’s 1st Congressional District.

Unlike Arizona’s 3rd, which is one of the most Democratic districts in the state, the 1st is currently represented by Republican David Schweikert. Many political pundits also see Arizona as a swing state in the 2024 US Presidential Election. Both media buys came ahead of a July 30 primary for Democrats.

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Bill targeting illicit use of crypto passes US House

The Financial Technology Protection Act passed the House of Representatives by voice vote roughly a year after lawmakers sent it out of committee.

Lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation to establish a working group researching the illicit use of digital assets.

A majority of House members approved the Financial Technology Protection Act by voice vote on July 22. The bill, introduced in April 2023 by Representatives Zach Nunn and Jim Himes, aims to address how “rogue and foreign nations” could use crypto to evade sanctions by having members of several federal agencies coordinate their efforts.

“This bipartisan bill will help ensure the United States is prepared to address security risks and prevent illicit money laundering while also protecting consumer choice for all Americans,” said Representative Nunn. “We must do both simultaneously to ensure the long-term integrity of digital assets.”

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What crypto policies can voters expect from potential VPs under Kamala Harris?

Despite endorsements from major party leaders, the top and bottom of the Democratic presidential ticket have yet to be fixed.

Though United States Vice President Kamala Harris has yet to officially win the Democratic nomination for president in 2024, many experts suggest she has an excellent chance to be the party’s candidate, facing off against Republican Donald Trump in November.

At the time of publication, it was unclear whether the Democratic National Convention (DNC) would hold an open primary — allowing any candidate to potentially win the delegates for the top of the ticket — or conduct a “virtual roll call” to decide on a nominee before a critical state deadline. The DNC is scheduled to begin on Aug. 19 in Chicago. However, Ohio’s election laws require parties to certify their presidential tickets by Aug. 7, suggesting that Democrats may take steps to ensure Harris is nominated outside of an open convention.

With the endorsement of US President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Representative Nancy Pelosi, and many Democratic leaders, Harris may become the party’s candidate in 2024. Until the nomination is official, certain Democrats have a chance of being at the top of the ticket or potentially vice presidential candidates under Harris.

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