Blockchain Progress

2023-09-20 19:13:01 Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Consolidates Recent Gains Ahead of FOMC Decision

Bitcoin retreated from recent highs on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate announcement. The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, despite inflation rising by more than expected in August. Ethereum also gave up gains in today’s session.

Bitcoin chart by TradingView

One of the catalysts for the drop in price was the relative strength index (RSI), which fell below a ceiling at the 60.00 mark.

The index is now tracking around the 57.08 level, and is moving towards a support point at 55.00. Overall, momentum remains largely bullish, with today’s decline largely due to profit taking ahead of the Fed announcement.

Ethereum (ETH) also slipped lower during today’s session, which can also be attributed to traders opting to secure gains.

Following a high of $1,669.02 on Tuesday, ETH/USD dropped to a low of $1,621.36 earlier in the day. As a result of the move, the world’s second largest cryptocurrency fell close to a support point of $1,620.

Ethereum chart by TradingView

Price has since rebounded, with ethereum trading at $1,631 at the time of writing, owing to bulls choosing to reject a breakout. An earlier failed breakout attempt seems to be the reason for the decline, with the RSI unable to rise above a ceiling of 49.00.

Price strength now sits at 45.72, with a floor of 40.00 a possible target for short sellers. Open / Comment

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2023-09-17 20:21:02 North Korean Hackers Use Russian-Based Exchanges to Launder Stolen Crypto, Report

Hacking groups linked to North Korea are increasingly using exchanges in Russia to launder crypto, Chainalysis revealed. The shift in their strategy, registered by the blockchain forensics firm, coincides with a drop in the value of the stolen cryptocurrency this year in comparison with the record-breaking 2022.

The release of the report coincides with a summit of the leaders of the two sanctioned nations, Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin, who met for suspected arms talks. It also comes as U.N. sanctions monitors are drawing attention to Pyongyang’s changing tactics in cyberattacks against crypto and financial exchanges seeking to obtain funds for its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

Chainalysis provides an example with the recent transfer of cryptocurrency worth $21.9 million stolen from Harmony Protocol to a Russian exchange known for processing illicit transactions. The company also said it has evidence showing that North Korean entities have been using this platform and other services in Russia to launder money in the past couple of years.

Chainalysis data shows that the value of stolen cryptocurrency associated with North Korean hacking groups exceeds $340.4 million so far in 2023, compared to $1.65 billion last year. Open / Comment

2023-09-14 19:19:01 Bitcoin, Ethereum Technical Analysis: BTC Hovers Near 2-Week High, Ahead of US Retail Sales Report

Bitcoin neared a two-week high on Thursday, as markets looked ahead to today’s retail sales report in the United States. Sales are expected to rise by 0.2% in August, a drop from a 0.7% increase the month before. Ethereum remained in the green, moving back above a key support point earlier in the day.

Bitcoin remained in the green for a second consecutive session, ahead of the upcoming U.S. retail sales report. Consumer spending is expected to fall lower, which comes as inflation increased last month. Following a low of $26,084.80 on Wednesday, BTC/USD surged to a peak of $26,529.50 earlier in today’s session.

Looking at the chart, the surge comes as the relative strength index (RSI) broke out of a ceiling at 45.00. At the time of writing, price strength is tracking at 49.04, which is marginally below a ceiling at the 53.00 mark.

Should it move beyond this, there is a good chance that bitcoin will rise above the $27,000 level in the coming days. Additionally, ethereum (ETH) was also in the green on Thursday, as price rose above a recent support point.

ETH/USD reached a high of $1,635.82 earlier in today’s session, less than 24 hours after trading at a low of $1,593.11. The move resulted in the world’s second largest cryptocurrency climbing above a key price floor at $1,620.

Similar to BTC, today’s rally coincided with the RSI moving past a ceiling of its own at the 40.00 mark, and it now sits at 44.00. This latest rebound has increased the possibility of an upward cross, and should this happen, ETH will be trending closer to $1,700. Open / Comment

2023-09-12 20:29:01 Examining the Concept of Flatcoins: Crypto Tools to Battle Inflation

With the issue of inflation rising as a real problem for global economies last year, there has been a renewed need for people to seek a way of preserving their purchasing power. Flatcoins, stable currencies that change their value according to the inflation in a determined jurisdiction, have surged as a crypto-based solution for the issue.

The problem of rising inflation has gained notoriety this year as large world economies that had traditionally kept prices relatively under control were affected by a loss of purchasing power. For example, U.S. inflation touched 9.1% during 2022, reaching one of its highest levels since 1981.

This rise prompted a swift response from the Federal Reserve, which started hiking interest rates to address inflation. However, the problem of losing purchasing power remains for citizens and companies that have to deal with these price distortions.

Flatcoins are designed to address this issue by proposing inflation-adjusted stablecoins that allow users to preserve this purchasing power, meaning that if one unit of this proposed token serves to purchase a determined item today, it would be able to do so five years from now. Open / Comment

2023-09-09 20:50:08 CFTC Cracks Down on 3 Defi Platforms for Offering Illegal Derivatives

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has issued orders against the operators of three decentralized finance (defi) protocols. The regulator accused them of committing various violations of commodity laws including illegal trading of digital asset derivatives.

The CFTC has taken action regarding three Delaware-registered companies doing business in the defi space — California-based Opyn and Zeroex as well as Deridex which is based in North Carolina. The Commission said it had issued orders filing and settling charges against them.

According to the announcement published on Thursday, Deridex and Opyn have been charged with failing to register as a swap execution facility (SEF) or designated contract market (DCM) and failing to register as a futures commission merchant (FCM).

The two entities also failed to adopt a customer identification program, as required of FCMs, while together with Zeroex, they were also charged with illegally offering leveraged and margined retail commodity transactions in digital assets.

The regulatory body explained that the crypto firms operated blockchain-based protocols and smart contracts, that the CFTC says functioned similarly to trading platforms, and “purported to offer users the ability to engage in transactions in a decentralized environment.” Open / Comment

2023-09-06 19:07:01 Shark Tank Star Kevin O’Leary Warns of Emerging Financial Crisis, Bank Failures

Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, has sounded the alarm about an impending financial crisis. “We have a crisis emerging,” he warned, emphasizing that small business owners will be “cut off at the regional bank level.” He stressed: “You’re going to hear a lot of people crying about this in the next few months.”

“If you’re in the S&P 500, you have no trouble financing your business. You can’t say that about small business anymore. The cost of capital has gone through the roof,” the Shark Tank star stressed. He explained small business owners will be “cut off at the regional bank level.” He emphasized: “They’re not lending. The loan books closed down … you’re going to hear a lot of people crying about this in the next few months.”

O’Leary warned that the current count of around 4,100 regional banks is expected to decrease to 2,000 over the next three years, raising concerns among people about depositing their money in banks.

O’Leary is particularly concerned about government policies of giving money to large corporations and not small businesses. “We’ve got the CHIPS and Science Act. Where’s that money going? Behemoth giant companies in the S&P 500. The Inflation Reduction Act, another trillion not even printed yet. All going to big guys. Now, that’s great. They represent 40% of the jobs in America, the S&P 500. Everybody knows the S&P 500 is the biggest index in the world. But 60% of America is small business. That’s where 60% of the jobs come from. We’ve given nothing to them. And so they’re struggling because the Fed is raising rates up to 5.5% in a matter of months,” he shared with Fox News. Open / Comment

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2023-09-03 19:37:01 Robinhood to Buy Back SBF’s Stake for Over $605 Million

Online broker Robinhood is going to buy back the stake purchased by a company of crypto exchange FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). The fintech intends to pay $605.7 million for the shares that were transferred to the custody of the U.S. government after the bankruptcy of SBF’s businesses.

The stock was seized after FTX and Emergent filed for bankruptcy in 2022 and later transferred to the custody of the U.S. government, Reuters noted in a report.

The Menlo Park, California-headquartered financial services firm is going to pay $605.7 million for 55.3 million shares.

The crypto mogul announced the purchase of a 7.6% stake in Robinhood Markets just six months before his company filed for bankruptcy in November.

SBF was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States about a month after the collapse of FTX. Open / Comment

2023-08-31 17:13:01 Swiss SEBA Bank Obtains In-Principle Approval to Offer Crypto Services in Hong Kong

Switzerland-based crypto-friendly SEBA Bank announced it has received an approval-in-principle to operate in Hong Kong. The regulatory nod brings the Swiss bank’s local entity closer to becoming a licensed provider of various services for crypto assets in the Chinese region.

Backed by the Swiss banking giant Julius Baer, SEBA Bank provides wealth management, investment, and trading solutions for the digital age. A Hong Kong license will also enable its subsidiary to manage assets for discretionary accounts in both traditional securities and virtual assets.

Hong Kong has been taking steps to revive its status of a global financial hub in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic by creating conditions for crypto business. In June, the city introduced rules for retail crypto trade that require trading platforms and exchanges to obtain special licenses.

When it meets all conditions set by the SFC and gets the license, SEBA Hong Kong will be among the first companies licensed in the Chinese region to offer investment services with crypto capabilities, the Swiss bank pointed out in the announcement.

The group includes firms like Hashkey Exchange and OSL, Bloomberg noted in a report. Hong Kong is the third jurisdiction where SEBA Bank seeks licensing after Switzerland, where it’s supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), and Abu Dhabi, Reuters reminded. Open / Comment