CleanSpark Inc. has achieved a milestone, mining 445 Bitcoin (BTC) in June and surpassing its mid-year operational hashrate target of 20 exahashes per second (EH/s).

This achievement follows the acquisition of five new mining facilities in Georgia, which has increased the company’s overall capacity.

CleanSpark’s Milestone

In its latest unaudited Bitcoin mining and operations update for the month ending June 30, 2024, CleanSpark detailed its progress.

“We reached a tremendous milestone on our path to 50 EH/s and beyond. Surpassing 20 EH/s in operational hashrate is more than double our hashrate from December,” said Zach Bradford, CEO of CleanSpark in a July 2 press release.

In June, CleanSpark mined 445 BTC, bringing the total for CY2024 to 3,614 BTC. As of June 30, the company held 6,591 BTC and sold 8.06 BTC at an average price of approximately $67,514 per BTC.

The deployed fleet consisted of 152,505 miners with a month-end fleet efficiency of 22.31 joules per terahash (J/Th) and a current hashrate of 20.4 EH/s. The average hashrate for the month was 17.85 EH/s, resulting in an average of 14.83 BTC mined daily, with a single-day high of 22.41 BTC.

Bradford emphasized that doubling their hashrate required grit and teamwork, attributing their growth to the dedication of their teams. He noted that while other companies are exploring different income avenues, CleanSpark remains focused on delivering results and increasing their Bitcoin mining hashrate and associated revenues.

Bradford also highlighted their efforts to maximize efficiency at existing sites and expressed anticipation for future opportunities in Wyoming and Tennessee.

Strategic Growth and Future Prospects

CleanSpark’s strategic growth plans include an agreement to acquire GRIID Infrastructure (Nasdaq: GRDI). The acquisition of five turnkey sites in Georgia has added 3.7 EH/s to their total hashrate, with 1.7 EH/s already deployed by the end of June. The remaining hashrate is expected to come online in July.

The Bitcoin mining company also stated that the newly acquired sites in Georgia contribute 60 megawatts (MW) of infrastructure and feature interruptible-load designated power purchase agreements (PPAs) with load balancing capabilities, a unique advantage for utility providers and the power grid.

Additionally, they mentioned that its Dalton expansion is progressing well. Concrete pours for both building slabs have been completed, and transformers have been set.

Once fully operational, the Dalton campus, comprising four independent data centers, will operate at 2.4 EH/s. This 15 MW expansion is projected to be completed by September 2024.

The post CleanSpark Surpasses 20 EH/s Milestone, Mines 445 BTC in June appeared first on CryptoPotato.

With Bitcoin trading sideways over the past few months, traders are waiting for their signal to re-enter the market before crypto reclaims its bullish momentum from earlier this year.

In a Wednesday memo, an analyst from CryptoQuant highlighted one signal worth looking at: stablecoin liquidity.

Stablecoins: The Key To Driving Bitcoin Higher

“The bottom line is that in order for #Bitcoin to rally in earnest, we need to see an increase in stablecoin liquidity and circulating supply” wrote analyst Mac.D to CryptoQuant.

According to the author, Bitcoin hasn’t been able to break new highs above $73,700 since mid-March 2024 due to tightening monetary policy conditions in the United States for the preceding two years.

Higher interest rates around the globe harmed liquidity across the economy, including both stablecoin liquidity and the total circulating stablecoin supply.

Stablecoins are the fiat currency pegged crypto tokens that exchanges use as dollar equivalents in the crypto trading economy, and which traders often hold in preparation to buy BTC at a later time.

Tether (USDT) – the world’s most popular stablecoin which is pegged to the US dollar – saw its market cap contract from $83 billion in April 2022 to $65 billion in November 2022.

Its total value quickly recovered to over $82 billion in Q2 2023, and steadily climbed again to over $112 billion over the past three quarters, rising alongside Bitcoin’s price during these periods. That said, total stablecoin liquidity has remained mostly flat during Q2 2024, and so has Bitcoin’s price.

Liquidity Conditions And Bitcoin’s Price

“The reason why the price of Bitcoin has been rising over the past year is, first, the expectation of lower interest rates and, second, the fact that fiscal policy, unlike monetary policy, has continued to bring liquidity into the market,” the analyst wrote.

In a recent essay, BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes argued that continued fiscal spending from the U.S. government is here to stay, which will keep pushing up prices for assets like Bitcoin.

Still, analyst Mac.D believes the market’s next leg-up will also require more “accommodative monetary policy” in the United States. Right now, markets predict that the Federal Reserve may only begin cutting interest rates in September.

“Until we see these signals, Bitcoin is likely to trade sideways or correct further, and investors would be wise to take a long-term view of the market,” Mac.D concluded.

The post Here’s The Key To Reviving Bitcoin’s Bull Market: Analyst appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Cardano (ADA) rose 4% this week, with one analyst predicting a potential 70% spike due to a bullish pattern.

Indicators suggest the asset could see further gains, with some signaling a significant price increase by early 2025.

Is It Time for ADA to Shine?

Most leading cryptocurrencies have plunged substantially in the past week, while the global market capitalization dipped by 3.5% daily, currently standing at around $2.35 trillion (per CoinGecko’s data). However, some assets are still in the green on a seven-day scale, with Cardano (ADA) being one example. Its price is up 4% for that period, while analysts expect much more significant gains in the near future.

ADA Price, Source: CoinGecko

The X user Captain Faibik claimed that ADA’s “falling wedge breakout” has been finally confirmed after a long consolidation, meaning a 70% rally could be in the cards.

The term refers to a certain bullish chart pattern that typically indicates a potential reversal in the price trend. It is characterized by two trendlines that converge downwards. A breakout usually occurs when the valuation crosses the upper one. That exact thing happened at the start of July.

The X user XForceGlobal was also optimistic. The crypto educator thinks there could be “a massive shift” from the meme coin narrative into “high-cap dino altcoins” in the following months. The analyst concluded that this could lead to huge volatility for ADA’s price and an eventual price explosion to almost $3 at the start of 2025.

Those curious to explore additional Cardano forecasts, feel free to take a look at our dedicated video below:

ADA is Gaining a Momentum

Some important indicators suggest that Cardano’s native token could be indeed poised for an uptick in the short run.

The Relative Strength Index (RSI), which gauges the speed and change of price movements, has been relatively low as of late, currently standing at 51. The metric varies from 0 to 100, with a ratio of over 70 signaling a possible correction.

On another note, ADA has earned a place in a prestigious ranking. According to the market intelligence platform Santiment, it is among the top 10 cryptocurrencies in terms of development frequency.

 

The post Cardano Price Predictions: Is ADA Ready for a 70% Rally in the Coming Days? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Meme coin DADDY surged 35% after Andrew Tate’s announcement encouraging accumulation.

The token faces insider purchase controversy, while rival coin MOTHER’s price has sharply declined.

DADDY Heads North Again

One of the latest sensations in the meme coin niche – DADDY – saw its price soaring by 35% in the past 24 hours. It currently trades at around $0.15 (per CoinGecko’s data), while its market capitalization stands just shy of the $100 million milestone.

DADDY Price, Source: CoinGecko

The token’s latest rally could have been triggered by an interesting announcement from Andrew Tate (a former kickboxer and a popular online influencer). He urged all DADDY holders to accumulate as many assets as they can in the next 72 hours (around 48 hours left), claiming he has prepared a “grand plan” after that period:

“We are going to build a place built on honor, hard work and diligence as opposed to simply being in first, getting lucky, rugpulled. I’ve been working on this for a very long time, and this is your 72-hour warning.”

Several weeks ago, Tate revealed supporting DADDY so it can flip MOTHER (another meme coin) “for the patriarchy.” He also promised to burn his stash, insisting he doesn’t want money but chaos. 

It is worth mentioning that DADDY became the subject of huge controversy after crypto analytics firm Bubblemaps maintained that insiders purchased 30% of the supply at launch. The entity further stated that Tate received 40% of all DADDY tokens, which are currently worth more than $35 million.

Last month, the former kickboxer, known for his misogynist views, introduced his own meme coin, ticked RNT. The token is also well in the green, registering an 8% increase for the day.

What About MOTHER?

DADDY’s rival, announced by the Australian model and rapper Iggy Azalea, has been underperforming lately. Its price is down 14% on a daily scale and almost 50% in the last week. 

Similar to DADDY, MOTHER caused some people to raise eyebrows. One of the critics was Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who said:

“I’m feeling quite unhappy about “this cycle’s celebrity experimentation” so far. […] Ashton and Mila’s Stoner Cats was vastly more honorable than anything we’ve seen from this 2024 celebrity meme coin era – at least there was an actual show being funded.”

MOTHER’s downfall should serve as a reminder that dealing with the meme coin niche can be quite dangerous and lead to crucial financial losses. If you are about to hop on the bandwagon, please take a look at our dedicated video below:

The post This Controversial Meme Coin Jumps by 35% Following an ‘Urgent’ Announcement From Andrew Tate appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Binance will terminate trading for six pairs, including BTC/AEUR and ETH/AEUR, effective July 5, possibly due to poor liquidity or other factors.

Despite delisting some pairs, the company has added new ones like WIF/BRL and ZK/USDC, though these are not available to users in certain restricted regions.

Binance’s Latest Move

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – Binance – will terminate trading services for the following six pairs: BTC/AEUR, ETH/AEUR,AI/TUSD, CHR/BNB, GAS/FDUSD, and LQTY/FDUSD. The amendments will take effect on July 5.

The company did not provide an exact reason for the delisting effort, reminding that it periodically reviews all listed spot trading pairs and removes some in case of poor liquidity or other factors.

The majority of the affected cryptocurrencies are in the red today (July 3). Their poor performance coincides with the sector’s overall decline. According to CoinGecko’s data, the global crypto market capitalization is currently standing at around $2.35 trillion, a 3.5% plunge compared to the figure observed the day before.

As CryptoPotato reported, Bitcoin’s (BTC) price retraced toward the $60K mark, while Ethereum (ETH) dipped to approximately $3,300.

Contrary to halting services for some existing trading pairs, Binance recently included some new ones in its platform. WIF/BRL, ZK/USDC, and ZRO/USDC were added to Binance Spot. It is worth noting that the service is not available to all clients:

“Currently, users residing in the following countries or regions will not be able to trade the above-mentioned spot trading pair(s): Canada, Cuba, Crimea Region, Iran, Netherlands, North Korea, Syria, United States of America, and its territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands), and any non-government controlled areas of Ukraine.”

Previous Binance Announcements

The exchange has enforced numerous similar changes since the beginning of the year. Last month, it ceased trading services with the following pairs: ALPACA/BTC, NFP/TUSD, MDX/BTC, QUICK/BTC, and XAI/BNB.

A few months before, Binance terminated all operations involving Monero (XMR). The move was followed by a price crash for the popular privacy coin.

The post Incoming Binance Update Affecting Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) Traders: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Investors are eagerly awaiting the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs this month. But reports of delays appear to have vexed investors.

But once spot Ethereum ETFs hit the floor, these new products are estimated to attract net inflows of $3-$5 billion within the first six months of trading, according to a recent report published by crypto exchange Gemini.

Ethereum ETFs Poised For Massive Influx

Gemini’s analysis suggests that the introduction of spot Ethereum ETFs in the US could significantly boost total assets under management (AUM). When combining the projected new inflows with the existing assets in the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), the total AUM for US-based spot Ethereum ETFs could reach between $13 billion and $15 billion within the first half-year of trading.

The report also pointed out that Ethereum’s market value compared to Bitcoin is currently near its lowest levels in recent years. However, the anticipated influx of capital into these new vehicles could potentially improve its market position relative to Bitcoin.

If the ETH/BTC ratio were to revert to its three-year median of 0.067, it would represent a nearly 20% increase. An even more optimistic scenario, reaching the maximum ratio of 0.087 seen in this period, would translate to a 55% rally.

According to Gemini, inflows below $3 billion in the first six months would be “disappointing,” given that spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $15 billion in a similar timeframe. Meanwhile, inflows exceeding $5 billion, equivalent to a third of Bitcoin ETF inflows, would be viewed as a strong performance. Reaching close to 50% of Bitcoin ETF inflows, or about $7.5 billion, would be a “significant upside surprise.”

Delays in Spot Ethereum ETF Launch

Currently, eight fund issuers have received 19b-4 approvals on a spot Ethereum ETF and are awaiting final S-1 authorization to list and launch trading for the products. The previous market predictions suggested a 73% chance of these ETFs launching by July 4. However, recent developments have significantly reduced those odds.

The SEC has reportedly requested additional revisions to the applications, causing a delay. Despite this setback, the eventual approval of spot Ethereum ETFs is still anticipated. The timelines have been extended, with fund issuers asked to submit updated applications by July 8.

The post Will the ETH Price Surge Following ETFs Launch? Gemini Outlines the Possibilities appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Crypto mining firm Genesis Digital Assets – backed by Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen hedge fund, is reportedly mulling over an initial public offering (IPO) in the US as the crypto sector gains steam.

According to Bloomberg sources, Genesis Digital Assets is currently consulting advisers on a possible listing. The mining company intends to initiate a pre-IPO funding round, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks, as per an anonymous source.

Genesis Digital Assets Considers IPO in US

The company’s IPO plans follow significant expansion activities this year. In May, Genesis Digital Assets opened a new mining center in Argentina, and prior to that, it announced a 36MW facility in Texas.

While Genesis Digital Assets has yet to comment on the matter officially, the report said that the discussions are still in progress and the fundraising plans could be subject to change.

Currently, the company operates more than 500 megawatts of power capacity and 20 data centers across North America, Europe, Central Asia, and South America, positioning it as a leading crypto miner. According to information on its website, it has offices in Houston and Dubai.

For the uninitiated, Genesis Digital Assets originated from one of the first crypto-mining firms and secured over $1 billion in funding from Alameda Research, previously overseen by Bankman-Fried before his dramatic downfall.

The investments were made in four separate tranches: $100 million in August 2021, $550 million in January, $250 million in February, and lastly $250 million in April 2022.

An internal spreadsheet listing FTX and Alameda’s venture portfolio, reviewed by Bloomberg, indicated that the crypto mining firm was valued at $5.5 billion in April 2022.

Post FTX-Triggered Meltdown

The mining sector faced a massive downturn after FTX and Alameda declared Chapter 22 bankruptcy, subsequently triggering a meltdown in the digital assets sector. This, in turn, further exacerbated the conditions for Bitcoin miners, even dragging a significant number of them into bankruptcy as the crypto winter of 2022 intensified.

However, the industry witnessed a strong resurgence in the last two years, ultimately driving Bitcoin’s price to an all-time high.

As for Bankman-Fried, the disgraced exec was found convicted on all seven charges of fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering. On March 28 this year, he received a 25-year prison sentence and was ordered to forfeit $11 billion.

The post This Crypto Miner Backed By SBF’s Alameda Research is Exploring IPO in US appeared first on CryptoPotato.

This meme coin continues to suffer with no relief from buyers so far.

Key Support levels: $0.000014

Key Resistance levels: $0.000018

1. SHIB Remains Bearish

The price fell by almost 6% in the past week, and this correction shows no signs of ending. The current support is found at $0.000014, which could be the place where buyers become interested again. Until then, the bias remains bearish on this price action.

Chart by TradingView 2. Sellers Dominate

Back in March, SHIB enjoyed tremendous buying pressure. This totally reversed in June, when sellers dominated for weeks at a time. Slowly but surely, the price reflected this as it made new lows. This trend may continue as long as buyers don’t make a stand to challenge the resistance at $0.000018.

Chart by TradingView 3. MACD Shows a Reversal is Unlikely

The weekly MACD continues to make lower lows on its histogram. This puts bears in charge, and there are no signs of a reversal. Until the histogram makes a higher low, this bearish trend is unlikely to change.

Chart by TradingView

For more updates on the ecosystem, make sure to check out our Shibarium news.

The post Why is the Shiba Inu (SHIB) Price Down Today? appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The leading cryptocurrency exchange, KuCoin, has implemented a 7.5% transaction fee tax on all trades executed on the platform for its Nigerian users.

According to an official announcement, KuCoin will start collecting a value-added tax (VAT) of 7.5% on transaction fees from July 8 to align with recent regulatory developments. This update affects all users with their Know Your Customer information registered in Nigeria.

KuCoin to Tax Nigerian Users

To avoid misunderstandings about the latest development, KuCoin clarified that the VAT applies to the transaction fees in each trade, not the transaction amount. For instance, a 1,000 Tether (USDT) transaction would incur a 1 USDT fee and a 0.075 USDT tax, which represents 7.5% of the fee. Hence, the net amount for the transaction would be 998.925 USDT.

KuCoin’s announcement comes roughly four months after the Nigerian government filed tax evasion charges against Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. In March, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) of Nigeria dragged Binance to court over four counts of tax evasion, money laundering, and terrorist financing allegations.

Per the FIRS lawsuit, Binance failed to deduct VATs from Nigerian crypto traders on its platform, failed to register and pay taxes incurred from offering its services, aided and abetted users in neglecting their taxes, and refrained from issuing VAT invoices to users to ensure appropriate tax payments.

Meanwhile, KuCoin’s latest update raises speculation on the future fate of Nigerian crypto users. The exchange and Binance have already paused peer-to-peer services for the Nigerian naira, and other exchanges are bound to follow suit in activating taxes for all trades.

The post KuCoin Introduces 7.5% Tax on Fees for Nigerian Users appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Despite a market-wide correction, XRP is holding strong.

Key Support levels: $0.43

Key Resistance levels: $0.54

1. Flat Trend Continues

XRP did not make new lows this week and manage to hold steady around 48 cents. While most of the market is in red today, XRP managed to keep its price. This is a show of strength.

Chart by TradingView 2. Key Resistance Next?

The price action gives signs it wants to push XRP higher and challenge the key resistance at 54 cents. This level is a 10% price increase from current levels and seems achievable if sentiment continues to improve around this cryptocurrency.

Chart by TradingView 3. Bullish Cross on Daily

The bullish cross on the daily MACD from last Sunday may explain why XRP is holding better than other altcoins right now. Since then, buyers appeared to have the upper hand, but they are being challenged right now. If they hold steady here, XRP could move higher later.

Chart by TradingView

The post Ripple (XRP) Price Outlook for This Week: 3 Things to Watch appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Asset managers are optimistic about Security and Exchange Commission approval for the first U.S. ETFs directly investing in Ethereum, possibly by mid-July.

The SEC has given ETF applicants until July 8 to submit updated paperwork and amended S-1s, with potential additional rounds of filings.

There may be an additional round of filings after the one due on July 8, reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.

Wen spot eth ETF?

BBG sticking w/ mid-July.

Amended S-1s due July 8th.

Potential final S-1s by July 12th.

Would theoretically mean launch week of July 15th.

via @emily_graffeo @olgakharif pic.twitter.com/NG8xhtCP21

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) July 3, 2024

Ethereum ETF Hopefuls

Recent SEC feedback to issuers involved minor questions, which are being addressed, the report added.

Head of asset management at Galaxy Digital, Steve Kurz, told Bloomberg that an Ether ETF could potentially be approved within the next couple of weeks.

“This is window-dressing, the SEC is engaged. We’ve been doing this for months now. We did it for the Bitcoin ETF, the products are substantially similar – we know the plumbing, we know the process.”

Major asset managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark 21Shares, and Invesco have pending filings, but many issuers have yet to disclose their fund fees, which is a necessary step before trading begins.

It is also unclear if Ethereum ETFs will generate demand similar to spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have amassed $52 billion in assets since they launched in January.

Analysts have estimated that the Ethereum ETF flows could be around 10% to 15% of Bitcoin ETF flows and that ETH prices may fall as much as 30% following their launch.

However, crypto research firm K33 Research expects Ethereum to outperform Bitcoin in July.

“ETFs are a solid catalyst for relative ETH strength as the summer progresses and flows accumulate, and I firmly view current ETH/BTC prices as a bargain for the patient trader,” wrote K33 senior analyst Vetle Lunde in a July 2 report.

Bitcoin is facing potential selling pressure from a forthcoming distribution of almost $9 billion worth of BTC related to the defunct Mt. Gox exchange.

ETH Price Declines

Ethereum prices are not showing any positive momentum today. The asset fell 3% to an intraday low of $3,342 during Asian trading on Wednesday.

ETH topped $3,500 in a ten-day high earlier this week but shadowed its big brother as crypto markets failed to break resistance and retreated once again.

Ethereum is currently 17% down from its 2024 peak of just over $4,000 and 31% down from its November 2021 all-time high.

The post Ethereum ETF Hopes High for Mid-July Launch, Despite 3% ETH Price Dip appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bittensor developers have temporarily suspended the network due to a suspected security exploit targeting several wallets.

On-chain analyst ZachXBT revealed that the incident might involve the leakage of private keys, which could lead to unauthorized access and potential thefts.

Bittensor Halts Operations

A Bittensor community Discord administrator, const [т, T], announced that all transactions have been paused. This was done to prevent further unauthorized access while the team investigated the issue. The administrator stated that they were looking into the attack that involved some Bittensor wallets.

By way of an update, we have contained the attack and put the chain into safe mode (blocks producing but no transactions are permitted).

We’re still mid investigation and are considering all possibilities. Stay tuned.

— Ala (@shibshib89) July 3, 2024

Co-founder Ala Shaabana confirmed on X that the blockchain was put into “safe mode,” allowing blocks to be produced but halting all transactions. Blockchain trackers for the Bittensor network show that the last transactions and blocks were processed around 23:00 UTC on Tuesday.

ZachXBT reported on his Telegram channel that approximately $8 million worth of TAO — equivalent to about 32,000 native Bittensor (TAO) tokens — was stolen. This security breach led to a 17% decline in the TAO token’s value, dropping it to a low of $227. However, the token has since rebounded to trade at $240, representing a 10% decrease within the last 24 hours. According to CoinGecko, TAO has a market cap of $1.67 billion.

The incident is not a first for the project. In June, a user on the platform lost more than 28,000 tokens worth around $11.2 million owing to a phishing attack.

According to ZachXBT, the attacker divided the stolen funds into 18 different wallet accounts, which were then consolidated into 16 accounts. These 16 accounts bridged the tokens from the TAO network to Ethereum, subsequently swapping them for ETH and USDC stablecoins using three different decentralized exchanges.

Crypto Project Scams Remain a Persistent Issue

Crypto projects have increasingly become targets for scammers and hackers over the past few years. Since the beginning of this year alone, losses from hacks and rug pulls have surpassed $473 million across 108 incidents. This is a slight improvement compared to the same period in 2023 when losses exceeded $595 million.

In May 2024 alone, losses due to hacks and fraud amounted to $52.4 million. This represents a 12% decrease from the nearly $60 million lost in May 2023 and a 28% decrease from the previous month.

During this period, decentralized finance (DeFi) projects were predominantly targeted by attackers, with Ethereum and BNB Chains experiencing the highest losses.

The post Bittensor Halts Network Amid Wallet Security Breach appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Bitcoin’s price was unable to maintain its positive performance over the past few days, and the bears were successful in pushing it back toward the pivotal $60K level.

All eyes are now on it, while there has been one cryptocurrency that is defying the otherwise negative sentiment in the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin Price Dips Toward $60K

Bitcoin’s price failed to continue the rally that started earlier in the week and is now pushing toward $60K. At the time of this writing, the leading cryptocurrency is trading at $60,700, down 3% on the day and 1.4% on the week.

Source: TradingView

As it can be seen on the chart above, the price crashed throughout a few hourly candles on July 3rd, finding some sort of support at the current levels.

It’s important to see if this will last or if the bears are determined to take BTC below the critical psychological and technical point of $60K.

Altcoins Suffer, but XRP Price Stands Tall

The majority of large-cap altcoins are trading well in the red. Examples include Ethereum, which is down almost 3%, BNB – down 2.2%, SOL – down 1%, DOGE – down 1.4%, PEPE – down 5.6%, and so forth.

Source: Quantify Crypto

There are a few, however, that managed to curb the downfall and remained steady. One of them is XRP. The primary reason for which XRP is trading in the green is associated with an update regarding the case between Ripple and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

The company recently filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority regarding a decision related to the cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

In essence, last week, judge Amy Jackson dismissed the regulator’s claims that secondary market sales of BNB constituted securities transactions.

In turn, Ripple Labs attempts to use this in their favor, arguing that it supports their case. It’s interesting to see how the case will turn out and whether or not Ripple will come out on top.

The post Bitcoin Retraces Toward $60K, XRP Defies Negative Sentiment (Market Watch) appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Shibarium’s activity has significantly declined, with daily blocks and transactions dropping over 50% recently.

SHIB’s burn rate surged due to market volatility, and the token’s price fell 1.3% in the past 24 hours and 4% over the week.

Shibarium Has Seen Better Days

Shiba Inu’s layer-2 blockchain solution – Shibarium – has been among the trendiest topics in the crypto space, blasting through numerous milestones in the past several months. However, the network’s progress has stalled lately.

Data shows that only 5,740 new blocks have been processed on Shibarium on July 2. This represents a nearly 70% decline compared to the 17,214 witnessed the day before. 

In addition, daily transactions have dipped from over 14,000 on June 30 to around 6,000 two days later. The metric is far from its glory days in mid-April. Back then, transactions on a daily scale were in the millions.

Shibarium officially saw the light of day in August last year, aimed at elevating Shiba Inu above its rivals in the meme coin sector. It is designed to lower transaction costs, improve speed, and enhance scalability.

The protocol underwent two essential upgrades in the past few months. The team behind it first launched a new user interface (UI) upgrade, describing it as “faster, smoother, and more accessible than ever. ” Its main purpose was to allow compatibility with popular self-custody wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, and Trust Wallet.

Shortly after, the developers introduced another advancement via a hard fort. Its goal was to improve user experience, empower the community, and implement quicker block processing times.

Those curious to learn more about Shibarium, feel free to take a look at our dedicated video below:

SHIB on a Downfall

Another major development surrounding the second-largest meme coin in terms of total market capitalization is its burn rate, which exploded by over 8,500%. 

It is worth noting that the indicator might have skyrocketed as a result of investors moving to liquidate their positions amid SHIB’s enhanced price volatility and current market uncertainty. After all, a percentage of tokens is sent to a null address with each transaction.

SHIB is down 1.3% in the past 24 hours and 4% weekly. Other leading meme coins, such as dogwifhat (WIF), Pepe (PEPE), Bonk Inu (BONK), and many more, have charted even more substantial losses. 

The post Is the SHIB Price in Danger of Crashing? Key Shiba Inu Metric Tanks by 70%: Details appeared first on CryptoPotato.

TL;DR

Ripple uses a recent Binance ruling to argue against harsh penalties in their SEC lawsuit, citing regulatory uncertainty.

The agency has reduced its proposed penalty from $2 billion to $102.6 million, while the company argues for a maximum fine of $10 million.

Ripple on the Move

The legal confrontation between Ripple and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has witnessed numerous developments as of late.

Most recently, the company filed a Notice of Supplemental Authority regarding a recent decision related to crypto exchange Binance. Last week, Judge Amy Jackson dismissed the regulator’s claims that secondary market sales of Binance’s BNB token constituted securities transactions.

Ripple seemingly intends to use that ruling in its favor. The firm’s legal counsel, Michael Kellogg, argued that the recent magistrates’ decision supports Ripple’s case that its alleged illegal sales of XRP do not warrant “harsh remedies” as the agency claims.

“This observation supports Ripple’s argument that providing clarity on the legality of the different types of sales of XRP was the most significant aspect of the Court’s summary judgment decision…

The lack of regulatory clarity prior to that ruling, in turn, supports Ripple’s position that the Court’s finding of a strict liability violation on some of Ripple’s sales – but far fewer than the SEC alleged were violations – does not reflect reckless disregard for the law or warrant harsh remedies. And, of course, the SEC did not even allege recklessness as to Ripple in its Complaint,” the letter reads.

Developments surrounding the longstanding lawsuit between the company and America’s securities regulator have often reflected on XRP’s market performance. The token’s price headed north following the filed letter and remains slightly in the green on a daily scale. In comparison, other leading cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), have tanked substantially in the past 24 hours.

The Bone of Contention

One of the major issues related to the case’s possible resolution is the size of Ripple’s penalty. The SEC initially sought a staggering $2 billion fine, while the firm claimed the amount should not exceed $10 million. 

Ripple compared the lawsuit with the one between the regulator and Terraform Labs, saying direct allegations of fraud were only evident in the one against the defunct crypto company. 

Shortly after, the SEC softened its tone, proposing a $102.6 million penalty:

“Ripple avoids comparing the Terraform settlement’s penalty to the gross profit of the violative conduct. That ratio ($420 million/$3.587 billion) is significantly higher: 11.7%. Applying it to the $876.3 million in gross profits, the SEC here asks the court to disgorge, which results in a much larger figure, a $102.6 million penalty, than the $10 million ceiling Ripple insists on.”

 

 

 

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Northern Data AG, a German firm specializing in high-performance computing infrastructure, is evaluating the possibility of launching a U.S. initial public offering (IPO) for its AI cloud computing and data center units.

The potential valuation for this IPO could reach as high as $16 billion, according to Bloomberg News sources.

Northern Data Eyes US IPO

Northern Data is considering combining its cloud computing branch, Taiga, with its data center operations, Ardent, to form a new firm for a prospective U.S. IPO. The combined entity may be listed on the Nasdaq as early as the first half of 2025.

This decision coincides with a recovery in the U.S. IPO market, which has been boosted by investor optimism about economic stability. Furthermore, there has been a revived interest in new listings in 2024. The introduction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT has also stimulated demand for AI technologies, which has led to large investments in the sector.

Major technology companies, like Microsoft and Alphabet Inc., have made significant investments in the infrastructure required to support AI applications.

The company is now in conversation with possible advisors about the IPO and intends to hire lead banks in the coming months. However, based on the results of these strategic engagements, Northern Data may decide against proceeding with the IPO. So far, the company has not provided an official comment on these plans.

Northern Data’s Market Position

The Frankfurt-based company, which went public in 2018, has seen its shares fall by around 5% this year. This has taken its market valuation to approximately €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion).

Northern Data has been adapting its energy-intensive data centers to enable AI applications in reaction to crypto mining’s shrinking business margins. In 2022, Northern Data was a notable Ether miner, devoting over 70% of its operations to the activity. Following an update to the Ethereum blockchain, the company changed its attention away from mining and toward high-performance computing and other projects.

The company obtained a €575 million debt financing agreement from Tether Group in November. Tether then became a cornerstone investor after they purchased a Tether-related vehicle for €400 million in January.

Notably, the company is using these funds to purchase advanced AI chips from Nvidia Corp., with plans to deploy approximately 20,000 H100 chips by the end of the summer.

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Crypto-friendly financial institution Evolve Bank and Trust was embroiled in a massive data breach. The bank admitted it had been aware of the incident, which involved the theft of 33 terabytes of user data.

While Evolve Bank maintained that customer funds appear to remain untouched, they admitted that the hackers likely managed to download sensitive customer information stored in the bank’s databases.

Evolve Bank’s Breach Exposes Bitfinex and Other Firms’ Data

The cyberattack has been linked to the notorious Russian ransomware group Lockbit. Reports suggest that the personal information of Bitfinex users was among the stolen data.

The stolen data from Evolve Bank reportedly contains sensitive personally identifiable information (PII), including names, addresses, social security and tax ID numbers, dates of birth, account balances, and email addresses.

The information is said to be associated with over 155.5k accounts connected to different companies such as Bitfinex, Nomad, and Copper Banking.

In an official update on Monday, Evolve revealed that some of its systems malfunctioned due to “unauthorized activity” in late May. This was apparently caused by an employee clicking a malicious link unwittingly. The bank went on to assert that it halted the attack “within days” and observed no further unauthorized activity since May 31.

Delay in Notifying Affected Companies and Users

Evolve said that the threat actor encrypted some data within its environment but the platform managed to limit the loss as well as the impact on its operations due to the backups available. It also refused to pay the ransom and claimed that Lockbit mistakenly linked the data to the Federal Reserve.

“The investigation is in its early stages, but it appears that names, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and contact information were affected for most of our personal banking customers, as well as customers of our Open Banking partners. We have now learned that personal information relating to our employees was also likely impacted.”

Following this incident, several fintech players who have worked with the bank have cautioned their customers about potential data compromise connected to the breach.

However, according to Fintech Business Weekly reporter Jason Mikula, Evolve is said to have delayed notifying affected fintech companies as well as end users until the breach became public knowledge last week.

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Historical economic trends suggest Bitcoin is fated for another massive leg up this market cycle, according to BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes.

While Bitcoin has traded mostly flat over the past several months, Hayes says he’s confident that the leading crypto asset will “regain its mojo” thanks to the overwhelming U.S. government spending and money printing of the modern era.

The Local Inflationary Period

The popular crypto essayist broke economic history down into two basic periods: local inflationary periods, and global deflationary ones. Since 2008, he claims the United States has been steeped in the latter after the nation turned to quantitative easing to quell the financial crisis.

“In a local period, the authorities financially repressed savers to fund past and present wars,” Hayes explained. “In a global period, finance is deregulated, and global trade is promoted.”

Generally speaking, Hayes said that it’s wise to hold gold during local inflationary periods – especially when you’ve lost faith in both the “system” and “those governing it.”

However, the start of the current economic era was also marked by Bitcoin’s genesis block in 2009, which introduced a currency that improved on all of gold’s qualities. Not only is the currency limited in supply, but it also “moves at the speed of light” much like digital fiat currencies. “That is why Bitcoin stole some of gold’s thunder from 2009 until the present,” he said.

Too Much Credit For A Recession, Says Arthur Hayes

While the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates and reduced its balance sheet over the past two years, Hayes said that the amount of credit in the economy is still expanding in other ways. These negate the central bank’s anti-inflationary measures and continue to boost the value of Bitcoin and other assets

“You now must obsessively observe the amount of credit created by commercial banks,” he explained. Much of this credit is related to fiscal deficits, which are funded through government debt that commercial banks “will dutifully purchase.”

Hayes cited an update from the Congressional Budget Office last month projecting the budget deficit to reach $1.915 trillion in fiscal year 2024 – the highest level ever besides the Covid-19 era. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Fed projects real U.S. GDP growth to be 2.7% in Q3 2024, quelling any fears of a potential recession in the short term.

“I’m pointing this out because I believe fiscal and monetary conditions are loose and will continue to be loose, and therefore, hodl’ing crypto is the best way to preserve wealth,” Hayes concluded.

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The crypto market has broadly retraced its momentary gains since the start of the week on Tuesday, though XRP has managed to retain some bullish momentum.

Part of the reason is due to a major court ruling regarding the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s lawsuit against Binance, which Ripple has now leveraged in its ongoing battle with the regulator.

In a letter to Judge Analisa Torres, Ripple’s legal counsel Michael Kellogg argued that the recent Binance ruling supports Ripple’s case that its illegal sales of XRP do not warrant “harsh remedies” as the SEC claims.

Last week, Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed SEC claims that secondary market sales of Binance’s BNB token constituted securities transactions.

The dismissal specifically called out the SEC for its decision to “oversee this billion dollar industry through litigation” as being “inefficient” and leaving relevant parties “without clear guidance.”

This observation supports Ripple’s argument that providing clarity on the legality of the different types of sales of XRP was the most significant aspect of the Court’s summary judgment decision,” Ripple said.

After Torres ruled on Ripple roughly one year ago, XRP surged roughly 70% in one day, and was relisted across multiple major exchanges. The lawsuit also became a pivotal reference point for the crypto industry in its ongoing battles with the SEC on whether other crypto assets or sales were qualified as unregistered securities.

Bitcoin traded down 2.1% on Tuesday while Ethereum fell 1.4%. By contrast, assets within the SEC’s crosshairs – including XRP and Solana (SOL) – rose 1.2% and 3.4% respectively.

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Binance.US said that it is prepared to defend itself against the US Securities and Exchange Commission after a court ruled that the regulatory agency’s case against the crypto exchange could continue.

In its official statement on X, the US arm of crypto giant Binance affirmed that the “fight continues.”

Binance.US Slams SEC’s Enforcement Tactics

The crypto exchange said that it has used the “limited guidance” that the SEC has offered to the crypto industry to operate its business in a compliant way. Binance.US also slammed the SEC’s regulation-by-enforcement strategy and accused the regulatory body of politically motivated overreach under its current leadership.

The company also said that it maintains 1:1 reserves for all customer assets and has strong compliance and risk programs that ensure the safety and security of its platform.

“We remain confident in our position that the SEC’s case is unsupported by the facts or the law and that the Commission lacks the very authority it is seeking to wield in bringing its action against us. We believe this position will be validated by the Court in due course.”

Binance.US vs SEC

Last June, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Binance Holdings Ltd., BAM Trading Services, BAM Management US, and founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao, accusing them of violating the US securities laws.

The securities watchdog also alleged that employees of the global Binance entity outside the US could improperly access and control Binance.US customer assets. Binance.US, on the other hand, maintained that the SEC has yet to identify any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the exchange throughout the extensive, 11-month discovery process.

In September, Binance contested the SEC’s claim and requested the dismissal of the case, arguing that the latter was overreaching its jurisdiction to foreign crypto transactions. However, Judge Army Berman Jackson of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the majority of the SEC’s lawsuit could proceed. Out of 13 counts, 10 will fully proceed, two will partially proceed, and one will be dismissed.

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