Lưu trữ cho từ khóa: CryptoCurrency

Bitcoin

Proton launches self-custodial Bitcoin wallet

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Proton, a privacy-focused company behind solutions like the Proton Mail and Proton VPN, has launched a self-custody crypto wallet.

The Swiss-based firm announced that the new ‘Proton Wallet’ will initially support only Bitcoin (BTC). As a self-custody wallet, Proton Wallet gives users full control over private Bitcoin keys. The company said it will add support for other crypto assets in due course.

“While we may seek to add fiat currency capabilities in the future, this requires a Swiss banking license and is, therefore, not possible today,” Proton founder and CEO Andy Yen said regarding support for fiat currencies.

Send BTC like email

Yen said in a blog post introducing the new product that the Proton Wallet is designed to bring Bitcoin to anyone by removing the complexities that continue to keep access away from the masses.

As such, the wallet features the capacity for users to send Bitcoin via email.

Users will benefit from the company’s Proton Mail email infrastructure and encryption key management system to send and receive Bitcoin. The wallet will also support users who have emails with third-party providers such as Gmail and Outlook, with this possible if the user has a Proton Account.

As for accessibility, Proton says its wallet will allow users to buy BTC in over 150 countries. The company is partnering with on-ramp providers like Banxa to enable this feature. The company has over 100 million users across its suite of products and could see another wave of Bitcoin adoption hit the market.

Yen also talked about the wallet’s security features.

Key to Proton Wallet’s focus on security and privacy are two things:

First, the company claims a built-in two-factor authentication and an “optional wallet passphrase.” The latter is separate from a user’s login information and provides an extra layer of protection, the Proton CEO said.

The other is the AI-powered security program Proton Sentinel, which will offer further account protection. Proton has reportedly used this program to protect activists and journalists, among other users, against cyberattacks.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Backed, Lisk partner to foster RWA adoption in emerging markets

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Tokenized real-world assets platform Backed and Layer 2 blockchain Lisk have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate RWA adoption across emerging markets.

In an announcement, the two platforms said the collaboration would leverage Backed’s expertise and traction in the RWA space and Lisk (LSK) to unlock financial opportunities.

“This partnership aligns perfectly with our vision of democratizing access to financial services through blockchain technology,” Erwan Mismaque, head of on-chain finance at Lisk, said.

“Backed’s innovative approach to RWA tokenization, coupled with our focus on interoperability and Emerging Markets, will accelerate the adoption of blockchain-based solutions and empower individuals in regions with significant potential for growth,” Mismaque added.

Leveraging the Optimism Superchain

Lisk’s L2 technology allows real-world applications to come on-chain on the Ethereum network. The platform also offers broader interoperability for blockchain developers and enterprises via its integration with the Optimism Superchain.

According to Bernardo Quintao, Backed’s head of business development, the partnership allows it to leverage Lisk’s interoperable blockchain network to bring the benefits of tokenized real-world assets to more people and businesses in emerging economies.

In the Superchain, several L2 chains form a network dubbed the OP Chains, where member networks benefit from shared security, open-source tech stack, and communication layer.

Projects to get up to $100k in grants

The Optimism Superchain will power the integration for accessibility and scalability. Meanwhile, businesses, developers, and partners will have access to Lisk’s incubator program, the Blockchain Incubation Hub, as they build new RWA-related projects.

Blockchain Incubation Hub supports blockchain initiatives of African entrepreneurs, helping them quickly scale new solutions.

New projects that build on Lisk and use Backed’s tokenization infrastructure or its bTokens will be eligible for grants of up to $100,000, which will be in the form of LSK tokens.

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Theo Crypto News

Altcoin

Altcoins suffer heavy losses as BTC recedes 8%

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On July 5, the majority of altcoins, including PEPE, BRETT, JASMY and FLOKI, fell over 20%, as Bitcoin, the largest crypto asset, dropped 8% in 24 hour trading.

At the time of writing, the Ethereum-based meme coin, PEPE, was down 15% in the last 24 hours, and hands were exchanged at $0.0000082. In the same timeframe, the daily trading volume of crypto assets hovered around $1.29 billion. Meanwhile, its market cap had slumped by 15%, now standing at $3.46 billion.

PEPE 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinMarketCap

BRETT, the memecoin which launched four months ago, also dropped 20%, exchanging hands at $0.1143, according to data from CoinMarketCap (CMC). In the same period, the meme coin, inspired by a character from the “Boy’s Club” comic, had a daily trading volume of $71.3 million.

BRETT 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinMarketCap

Meanwhile, the crypto asset’s market cap fell to $1.13 billion, bringing it down to the 59th largest cryptocurrency per CMC.

JASMY, the native cryptocurrency that enables all the activities inside the Jasmy ecosystem, is also being affected by the recent Bitcoin price action. At press time, it was down 15% in the last 24 hours, being traded at $0.02083 with a daily trading volume of $177 million. The token’s market cap had fallen to $1 billion.

JASMY 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinMarketCap

Solana-based meme coin FLOKI was also seen in the red with a drop of 15%, trading at $0.00013 at the time of publication. Its daily trading volume stood at $309 million, while the token also witnessed a drop in its market cap to $1.25 billion. The crypto asset has fallen to 55th rank among the top 100 leading cryptocurrencies.

FLOKI 24-hour price chart | Source: CoinMarketCap

The general sharp in all these altcoins follows the decline in the leading cryptocurrency by market cap, Bitcoin, which fell by 8% in the past day to $54,426 on Friday morning. Its 24-hour lows and highs were recorded as $53,717 and $58,591, respectively.

Bitcoin’s decline in price coincided with Mt. Gox transferring 47,229 BTC worth $2.7 billion worth of to an unknown wallet. Additionally, US spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows of $20.45 million, sparking investor concerns.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased by 0.58% from the previous day, reflecting a notable decrease in altcoin market activity.

Ethereum, the largest altcoin, had dropped 11% in the last 24 hours, being traded at $2860 at the time of reporting.

The sharp decline in the altcoin market is often linked to Bitcoin’s performance due to its significant influence and market dominance.

When Bitcoin experiences substantial price drops, it tends to create a ripple effect across the cryptocurrency market, leading to widespread declines in altcoin values as investor confidence wanes and market sentiment turns bearish.

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Theo Crypto News

DeFi

Ethena rises 11% following $34m proposal from BlackRock’s BUIDL distributor

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Ethena gained bullish momentum after Securitize, the distributor of BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), proposed a significant investment.

Late on July 23, Ethena Labs, the company behind the USDe stablecoin, posted on X that Securitize requested a $34 million allocation in BUIDL from the company’s $45 million reserve fund. This could allow Ethena Labs to gain exposure to the U.S. Treasury funds and make “low-risk” investments and generate yield. 

Following the announcement, Ethena (ENA) surged by 11.2% and is trading at $0.5 at the time of writing. The asset’s market cap is hovering close to the $850 million mark. Notably, the ENA daily trading volume rallied by 81%, reaching $150 million.

According to data provided by Santiment, the number of whale transactions consisting of at least $100,000 worth of ENA almost doubled over the past 24 hours — rising from 16 to 31 unique transactions per day.

ENA price, whale activity, RSI and daily active addresses – July 24 | Source: Santiment

On the other hand, data from the market intelligence platform shows that the number of Ethena daily active addresses plunged by 19% over the past day — falling from 1,042 to 844 active unique wallets.

At this point, the decline in the number of active addresses while the whale activity around the asset rises shows the possibility of high price volatility due to potential short-term whale profit-taking.

Per Santiment, the ENA Relative Strength Index (RSI) is currently hovering at 46. The indicator shows that Ethena is sitting in a good spot for a price hike. However, a short price correction would be expected due to the high amount of whale transactions.

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Theo Crypto News

Altcoin

Siacoin jumps 29% amid new interest in decentralized storage network

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Siacoin (SC) is among many altcoins experiencing a notable price increase on Wednesday, gaining 29% in the past 24 hours.

On Wednesday, the price of Siacoin rose to $0.005248 from its low of $0.004103, extending gains seen since the altcoin touched $0.003531 on July 5. Wednesday’s upside sees SC rank as one of the top performers in the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap.

SC has seen its market cap surge by 27% to over $303 million. Meanwhile, 24-hour trading volume has skyrocketed more than 2,700% to over $72.7 million.

Other coins to register double-digit gains in 24 hours at the time of writing were the meme coin Mog Coin (MOG) with 15% and Bitcoin Layer-2 network Stacks (STX) with 13%. Optimism (OP) and Ondo (ONDO) were also up 8% and 7% respectively.

Siacoin’s decentralized storage network

Siacoin is the native token of Sia, a decentralized cloud storage network that offers a marketplace where tap into their unused storage space.

On Sia, one can rent out their storage, with those who lease entering into smart contract agreement to pay hosts via the native utility token. Hosts on the other hand, use SC as collateral to guarantee reliability and trust. SC therefore plays a crucial role in not just helping secure the proof-of-work (PoW) coin but also as the payments currency on the network. Notably, the PoW mechanism allows for 30,000 SC as block reward.

The project launched officially in June 2015, and saw the price of SC rise to the all-time high of $0.09287 in January 2018.

Sia Foundation provides grants update

On July 9, the Sia Foundation published an update indicating availability of grant funding for community contributors. Applicants get funded to research, develop and deploy projects and tools that support decentralized cloud storage and broader Sia ecosystem.

In its latest report, the grants committee said it approved new grants for four projects: S5 Network, SkyMusic 2, SiaLearn, and Sia NFS Gateway.

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Theo Crypto News

DeFi

Mantle Network’s MNT token sees 12% surge amid whale buying

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MNT, the native token of Mantle Network, the Layer-2 technology stack for scaling Ethereum, has experienced a price surge of 12% in the last 24 hours, now trading at $0.8578.

This surge in MNT’s value comes amidst a broader decline in the cryptocurrency market. Currently, Mantle boasts a market capitalization of around $2.8 billion, placing it 31st in global cryptocurrency rankings by market cap, according to price data from crypto.news.

Over the past 24 hours, MNT’s trading volume has also risen by 12.7%, reaching $240 million. Within the same period, MNT’s price fluctuated between a low of $0.77 and a high of $0.86.

Formerly known as BitDAO, Mantle is an ecosystem investment DAO with close ties to Bybit. The Mantle token, MNT, is used for governance, gas fees on the Mantle Network, and staking on various platforms. The Mantle Network utilizes an Optimistic Rollup (ORU) to scale Ethereum and aims for EVM compatibility.

Operating on the Ethereum network, Mantle offers a seamless, secure, and scalable platform for decentralized application (dApp) developers to launch their projects. This has made Mantle an attractive protocol for supporting GameFi applications, prompting the creation of an in-house Web3 gaming team.

The recent price surge in MNT coincides with an increase in daily active and new addresses involved in MNT transactions.

On-chain data from IntoTheBlock indicates a 19% rise in the number of active addresses completing at least one MNT transaction over the past week. Additionally, the number of new addresses created to trade MNT has increased by 15% during the same period.

Mantle daily active addresses | Source: IntoTheBlock

An uptick in daily active addresses and new addresses typically signifies growing network activity and heightened interest in the asset, suggesting increased demand and potential for future value appreciation.

The spike in MNT’s price has also garnered attention from large holders or whales. These are addresses holding over 0.1% of an asset’s circulating supply. When the net flow of these large holders increases, it indicates that whale addresses are accumulating the asset, which is generally a bullish signal.

According to IntoTheBlock, MNT’s large holders’ net flow has surged by 134% over the past seven days, highlighting substantial accumulation by these investors.

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Theo Crypto News

DeFi

New EEA handbook to address regulatory ambiguity in DeFi laws

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The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) has launched a comprehensive DeFi Risk Assessment Guidelines handbook aimed at demystifying the complexities and regulatory uncertainties surrounding decentralized finance (DeFi).

Though the initiative from the EEA primarily aims to foster innovation in the DeFi space and address concerns over potentially restrictive legislation from global regulators.

The newly released guidelines delve into the intricacies of DeFi operations, offering detailed insights on how to evaluate, manage, and mitigate various risks. This resource arrives at a critical time, with the EEA highlighting a significant void in consistent accounting standards and regulatory guidance, particularly evident in frameworks like the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets regulations.

“There is still a lot of regulatory uncertainty around ‘boring’ accounting issues, about securities regulation, and so on because regulators are still learning about the [DeFi] space,” Charles Nevile, Director of Technical Programs at EEA, told crypto.news.

These guidelines aim to equip DeFi protocols with tools to proactively engage with compliance requirements and establish industry-supported best practices for risk assessment. Furthermore, they are designed to aid DeFi developers in demonstrating due diligence in a landscape where detailed regulatory mandates are scarce. Amid mounting pressure from regulators and policymakers threatening with anti-crypto legislation and enforcement actions, the EEA’s guidelines cover extensive ground.

Topics range from governance and tokenomics to software issues, liquidity, and compliance with regulatory and external market factors. They also address specific challenges in software components like oracles, smart contracts, and bridges, focusing on security and interoperability. For practical application, the guidelines outline best practices for risk management such as user education, bug bounty programs, stress tests, security updates, and data encryption. An extensive glossary of DeFi-related terms is included to assist newcomers in navigating the sector’s complex jargon.

In addition to aiding developers, the guidelines serve as a reference framework for regulators and licensing authorities, already influencing licensing requirements at the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and being included in the EU’s Sandbox program use cases.

Nevile also noted the importance of regulatory involvement in DeFi development. “The best way for this to happen is for regulators to participate alongside industry members in the multi-stakeholder development approach,” he stated.

The guidelines have drawn support from a diverse group of EEA board members, including crypto industry leaders from Consensys and the Ethereum Foundation, as well as major corporate entities like JP Morgan, Santander, and Microsoft.

The EEA has stated that its guidelines will be applicable to both non-crypto firms and regulatory bodies. Additionally, these guidelines are crucial for financial institutions evaluating investment risks. Dyma Budorin, co-chair of the EEA’s DRAMA working group and CEO of Hacken, emphasized the utility of the guidelines for traditional financial institutions cautious about entering the DeFi space.

“They don’t know what DeFi risks are, and that’s why they don’t step into DeFi,” Dyma Budorin, co-chair of the EEA’s DRAMA working group and CEO of blockchain security firm Hacken, noted in a statement to crypto.news. “DeFi protocols that plan to cooperate with old money can use the DeFi Risk Assessment Guidelines as best practice references,” Budorin added.

As major traditional finance firms increasingly adopt DeFi, the relevance of the EEA’s guidelines is underscored. Notably, BlackRock launched its inaugural tokenized fund on Ethereum this year, signaling a significant step into DeFi by a leading global asset manager.

Similarly, financial giants such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and HSBC are actively exploring DeFi through tokenization, further integrating blockchain technologies into their operations. To keep pace with these advancements, the EEA intends to continue its oversight through the Working Group, ensuring the guidelines evolve in response to new developments and feedback from users. This iterative process aims to refine and enhance the guidelines to better serve the industry.

A recent security incident on July 16 involving the Arcadia Finance protocol underscores the critical need for robust DeFi risk assessment and the implementation of preventative measures. In this breach, hackers targeted a specific contract address, extracting over $455,000 in various cryptocurrencies, which were subsequently laundered through the Ethereum-based mixing service Tornado Cash. The incident highlighted the persistent security vulnerabilities within DeFi protocols, reinforcing the importance of comprehensive risk management strategies as advocated by the EEA’s guidelines.

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Theo Crypto News

Công nghệ

Cambodia’s CBDC dev Soramitsu to pilot digital currency for Papua New Guinea

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Soramitsu Labs, a blockchain developer, intends to conduct a digital currency pilot in Papua New Guinea aimed at improving financial inclusion and security through economic digitization.

Japan-based blockchain firm Soramitsu Labs is gearing up to initiate a proof-of-concept experiment for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Papua New Guinea, as requested by the nation’s central bank. The Tokyo-headquartered says the initiative aims to leverage blockchain technology to create “a common platform for Pacific island nations,” according to a press release seen by crypto.news.

Papua New Guinea, grappling with some challenges in financial inclusion and security, appears to be seeking new blockchain-based solutions to address these issues. Many regions in the country experience frequent violent crimes, including robberies, which hinder financial accessibility and safety.

Soramitsu says the introduction of a CBDC could serve as a potential solution, providing a “traceable record for potential recovery” should such incidents occur. However, the company didn’t specify the duration of the pilot or when Papua New Guinea plans to launch its CBDC.

Meanwhile, Soramitsu is set to build a blockchain-based bond market gateway for the Pacific island nation of Palau. As crypto.news reported earlier, the company secured the contract and plans to introduce the marketplace on a trial basis in fiscal 2024, with a full rollout expected the following year. The initiative will enable the Palauan government to issue bonds to individual investors and manage principal and interest payments efficiently.

In 2020, Soramitsu gained prominence by introducing a CBDC in Cambodia, achieving over 10 million accounts by December 2023, representing 60% of the country’s population. Cambodia’s central bank governor Chea Serey later revealed plans to expand the CBDC’s global footprint through collaborations with UnionPay International, China’s primary card payment service, and other international partners.

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Theo Crypto News

DeFi

Crypto exchanges in South Korea now required to hold 80% of assets in cold storage

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South Korea’s first major set of cryptocurrency regulations is now live to safeguard crypto investors in the nation.

The new framework introduces stringent requirements for Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs). Dubbed the Protection of Virtual Asset Users (PVAU), it mandates VASPs to hold at least 80% of users’ digital assets in cold storage.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) will designate credible financial institutions to handle fiat deposits made towards VASPs. Further, VASPs must segregate customer funds from VASP funds and invest them in “risk-free” assets to generate a yield.

This safeguard ensures that in the event of a cryptocurrency exchange going bankrupt, the respective financial institutions would directly repay customer funds.

These measures are a direct response to the collapse of Terra-Luna and FTX, which wiped off billions of dollars worth of customer funds. Both entities’ implosions heavily impacted South Korea, especially FTX, which saw more than 6% of its traffic come from the East Asian country.

Besides the aforementioned mandates, VASPs are also required to be insured or have a reserve fund in place to mitigate the damage in the event of a hack or liquidity crisis.

Further, the law includes provisions for VASPs to restrict user deposits and withdrawals under certain conditions, offering further control over irregular activities.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the executive arm of the FSC, has also established a real-time monitoring system in collaboration with cryptocurrency exchanges for “constant monitoring of abnormal transactions.” This system’s implementation was also set for July 19, alongside the User Protection Act.

The regulator claims this system will cover 99.9% of the country’s crypto trading volume. If any abnormalities are identified, they must be reported to the FSS via a dedicated data transmission line.

When the system was introduced in early July, 29 crypto exchanges, including Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, Korbit, and Gopax, registered with the FSS regarding this.

The recent enforcement follows South Korea’s Ministry of Economy and Finance delaying the 20% crypto gains tax set to be implemented early next year. The nation’s ruling party is reportedly considering postponing it to 2028.

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Theo Crypto News