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Coinbase hoses down rumors of weekly withdrawal limits on Bitcoin

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Coinbase has denounced rumors of it imposing Bitcoin withdrawal limits circulating on social media as inaccurate. Crypto exchange Coinbase has refuted rumors it had imposed a $5,000 per week limit on Bitcoin (BTC) withdrawals after a user's post claiming as such gained traction on social media.  An Oct. 24 post from a user on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that he’d been hit with a purported policy that restricted his withdrawals of Bitcoin from Coinbase to a maximum threshold of $5,000 a week. The post gained over 250,000 views, with more than 420 retweets and nearly 2,000 likes. The post also gained attention of crypto researcher Chris Blec, who asked if anyone could verify the claim being made. . @Coinbase is limit ing bitcoin withdraw ls. I just tried to send BTC from Coinbase to my cold wallet, and encountered a NEW $5k/wk withdraw l limit policy (implemented 10/13). I've been a Coinbase customer for 10 years. GET YOUR BITCOIN OFF EXCHANGES!!!! — Colin Brown (@thecolin...

Coinbase suspends 80 non-USD trading pairs to improve liquidity

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Coinbase crypto exchange has been removing dozens of trading pairs in an effort to improve liquidity on its platforms. The United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is removing dozens of trading pairs in order to improve liquidity on its platform. Coinbase has suspended 80 non-USD trading pairs including the pairs with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and fiat currencies like the euro. Announcing the news on Oct. 16, Coinbase said that the trading pairs’ removals aim to improve “overall market health and consolidate liquidity.” The trading pairs were removed from the Coinbase exchange and other platforms like Advanced Trade and Coinbase Prime at 19:30 UTC on Oct. 16. 80 non-USD trading pairs that were removed from Coinbase on Oct. 16. Source: Coinbase Status The latest trading pairs’ removals on Coinbase come in line with the exchange’s plans to suspend the markets announced in early October. Coinbase emphasized that users of the affected ...

Crypto market outflows reached $55B in August as liquidity dwindled — Bitfinex

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Crypto's liquidity crunch could allow event-based volatility to have a greater impact on prices, according to a recent analysis from Bitfinex. Capital outflows in the crypto industry reached $55 billion in August, according to a report released by crypto exchange Bitfinex.  The analysis is based on the aggregate realized value metric, which measures the realized capital of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) with the combined supply from the top five stablecoins Tether (USDT), USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), Dai (DAI), and TrueUSD (TUSD). "A deep dive into the data reveals a prevailing trend: by early August, the industry had begun to experience capital outflows," notes the report. According to this metric, about $55 billion was drained from the crypto market s over the past month. Capital outflows did not just affect Bitcoin but also impacted Ether and stablecoin liquidity . Bitfinex said: "August was the largest red monthly candle for BTC since the bear market bot...

Bitget announces further $100M fund for ecosystem development

The announcement follows the launch of a $100 million fund back in April focused on investing in crypto projects in Asia. Crypto derivatives platform Bitget has announced a new fund focusing on growing its ecosystem and investing in regional exchanges, analytics firms, media organizations and entities that can contribute to its growth.  In an announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Bitget revealed the Bitget EmpowerX Fund, which will invest $100 million into maximizing the company’s “long-term impact” in the crypto space. According to the announcement, Bitget believes that diversifying services to reach the needs of the global user base is the key to expanding the native crypto ecosystem . Gracy Chen, managing director of Bitget, said the company expects more investments, mergers and acquisitions in the coming months as the centralized exchange landscape evolves with changes in regulations.  According to Chen, the fund is “another major step” in the company’s mission to make Bitget a com...

On-chain tool to seize crypto is a purist's nightmare, but a must: CEO

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A U.S. federal court recently used on-chain tech to lock criminals out of their crypto on the Jurat Network. Its founder, Mike Kanovitz, admits it could see hate from crypto purists. The founder of layer-1 blockchain Jurat has defended his protocol against potential haters, arguing that on-chain legal enforcement is a necessary trade-off for crypto mass adoption.  On Aug. 8, a U.S. District Court used Jurat’s on-chain enforcement tool to lock several sanctioned individuals out of their crypto accounts. These individuals were sanctioned for money laundering and using ransomware to extort cryptocurrency payments to benefit North Korea’s weapons program. A court just entered final judgment in a federal lawsuit and the court used @JuratNetwork to enforce its order on -chain ! The judge enjoined Russian and North Korean hackers from accessing their accounts, making $JTC the first crypto currency to comply with @USTreasury… — Mike Kanovitz (@MikeKanovitz) August 8, 2023 Speaking to C...

Blockchain Capital’s X account hacked promoting token claim scam

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The account has made multiple posts promising a token giveaway and ushers users to a copycat website to connect their crypto wallet. The X (Twitter) account of crypto-focused venture capital firm Blockchain Capital has seemingly been taken over by scammers attempting to lure users with the promise of a token claim . On Aug. 9, Blockchain Capital's account made multiple posts promising a giveaway of "BCAP" token s and directed users to a copycat website that emulates the appearance of the VC firm's original. Scammers posting a link to a fake Blockchain Capital website under the guise of a token claim. Source: X The copycat website — which includes an additonal "n" in the URL — directs users to connect their crypto wallet, a common tactic used by phishing scammers in order to drain user funds. The scammers tactically turned off the comments section in an attempt to prevent others from warning of the possible scam. This is fake. Don’t get scammed. https://t...

Elon Musk debunks scam token claims, assures no crypto plans for X

Elon Musk addressed the issue of scam tokens like $X and $TWITTER falsely claiming connections to the social media platform. Elon Musk firmly stated that the social media platform X, (formerly known as Twitter), has no plans to launch any crypto tokens, as he responded to a post regarding questionable X and Twitter-based digital currencies on Saturday, August 5. In response to a post made by DogeDesigner, Elon Musk addressed the issue of scam token s like $X and $TWITTER falsely claiming connections to the social media platform. DogeDesigner had cautioned the crypto community about being cautious with certain articles related to scam token s and clarified that neither Elon Musk nor X had ever initiated a crypto token . In his reply, Elon Musk asserted, "And we never will." Previously, Elon Musk had dropped hints about the possibility of incorporating cryptocurrency as a payment option on his platform. Traders were left wondering whether he would introduce a particular cryp...

Exploring how crypto loans can benefit businesses and individuals

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Cryptocurrencies are transforming lending practices. Crypto loans, or digital asset-backed or blockchain-based loans, can offer businesses and individuals perks that traditional lending mechanisms often struggle to provide.  Access to liquidity One of the primary advantages of crypto loans is their ability to provide quick access to liquidity. Traditional loan processes can be cumbersome and time-consuming, involving extensive paperwork and credit checks. In contrast, crypto loans leverage blockchain technology and smart contracts, enabling borrowers to access funds swiftly. This accessibility is particularly beneficial for businesses requiring immediate capital for operational expenses, investments, or growth initiatives. You might also like: Sequoia Capital shakes up crypto team after $214 million FTX loss No credit checks Traditional lending institutions heavily rely on credit checks to assess the creditworthiness of individuals and business es. This can be challengin...

If good UX is like driving auto, Web3 is ‘driving stick’ — UX designers

The high stakes of crypto applications mean developers often need to prioritize security — but that comes at the cost of poor user experience. The current state of Web3 user experience is akin to driving a manual transmission car — there’s more control, but most users will find it unnecessarily clunky, according to several UX design ers. Over the years, discussion around mainstream adoption of Web3 has centered around the need to improve crypto’s user experience and “ease of use.” However, in a July 12 Twitter post, Web3 UI/UX design er “0xDesigner” argued that certain properties of blockchain make it challenging to build easy-to-use Web2-like applications. Web2 vs Web3 UX I was asked by a reporter from a crypto publication about the disparity between web2 and web3 UX. It’s a meaningful line of questioning that isn't covered enough. So I’m going to share some half-baked thoughts in hopes that it triggers more discourse. Why is… — 0xDesigner (@0xDesigner) July 12, 2023 Acco...

Crypto travel rule implementation ‘remains relatively poor,’ says FATF

The United Nations body called on all member states to implement the Travel Rule “without delay” to close “loopholes” not currently protected by regulation. A renewed call from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has asked countries to implement the “ travel rule” to combat money laundering and terrorism financing activities enabled by cryptocurrencies. On June 23, the United Nations body — whose role is to promote strategies to combat money laundering and terrorist financing — explained that “many” member states have failed to implement the rule. The call comes after a series of FATF meetings at its headquarters in Paris. The FATF plenary has concluded. Delegates of governments from around the world discussed a range of money laundering and terrorist financing issues. See the outcomes of the plenary here️ https://t.co/s0nmYw1ca6#FATFWeek #moneylaundering #terrorismfinancing #followthemoney pic.twitter.com/DTerSET5QT — FATF (@FATFNews) June 23, 2023 FATF claimed “more than hal...

More crypto exchanges list PEPE following trading frenzy

The price of the memecoin has surged by over 2,000% in the past two weeks. On May 1, cryptocurrency exchange OKX announced that it would be listing memecoin Pepe (PEPE) at 17:00 Hong Kong Time (HKT) and open Pepe withdrawals on May 2 at 17:00 HKT. In supporting the listing decision, OKX staff wrote:  “Pepe the Frog is a cartoon character and internet meme created by cartoonist Matt Furie. Pepe was designed to be a green frog with a human-like body; this is one of the most popular memes in the world.” Several cryptocurrency exchange s, including MEXC Global, Bitget, Gate.io and Huobi, listed Pepe trading pairs two weeks prior, stirring what appears to be a trading frenzy . The token has returned 2,340% since April 17 and is now trading at $0.000001223 apiece at publication. Following news of the OKX listing, Pepe’s price has surged over 50% in the past 24 hours. Created on the Ethereum blockchain by anonymous developers, the Pepe token was created, according to CoinMarketCap, “as ...

SEC accuses Bittrex of conducting unregistered business

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Join Our Telegram channel to stay up to date on breaking news coverage Yesterday we reported on the decision by Bittrex, once one of the major exchanges in the world, to leave the U.S. due to impending government regulatory action. On Monday, the news was delivered the the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the main financial regulatory body in the U.S., has filed a complaint against the exchange. The former CEO and cofounder of Bittrex, William Shihara, has been accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with running an unlicensed national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. Separate charges were brought by the agency against Bittrex Global. In the Western District of Washington U.S. District Court, the SEC accuses the corporations and Shihara of violating the Exchange Act on four counts. Further charges are being brought against Bittrex Global “in connection with its operation of a single shared order book alongside Bittrex.” ...

Paxful shutdown hits Nigeria harder than the rest of the world, here’s why

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Paxful’s shutdown has left its global community heartbroken, but it has significantly impacted the Nigerian community, where it pioneered P2P crypto use. The shutdown of the peer-to-peer (P2P) cryptocurrency marketplace Paxful has left its worldwide community searching for alternatives, but it appears to have significantly affected the Nigerian crypto community.  On April 4th, Paxful declared that it would halt its operations. The reason for this decision, according to the founder and CEO Ray Youssef’s blog, was due to “key staff departures” and the regulatory environment. According to a study by Chainalysis’ 2020 Cryptocurrency Geography Report, Nigeria ranked eighth in crypto adoption and usage among 154 countries included in the study. Acceptance and usage of crypto in Nigeria were not as high until Paxful pioneered the use of peer-to-peer technology in the country, helping expand the crypto industry. A Nigerian crypto user, Emmanuel Susegh, told Cointelegraph that the shutdown o...

Robinhood subpoenaed by SEC over crypto listings and custody

The firm said it received an investigative subpoena in December regarding its crypto listings, crypto custody and platform operations. Robinhood Markets has confirmed that it had received an investigative subpoena from the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) over its digital asset business' crypto listings , custody and platform operations. In a 10-K filing, the brokerage said it received the investigative subpoena in December shortly after crypto exchange FTX filed for bankruptcy in November, and after "several other major cryptocurrency trading venues and lending platforms earlier in 2022," including Three Arrows Capital, Voyager Digital Holdings and Celsius Network. The investigative subpoena was in relation to its cryptocurrency listings and custody services, which they said came in response to the crypto bankruptcies last year: "In December 2022, following the 2022 Crypto Bankruptcies, we received an investigative subpoena from the SEC regardi...

Coinbase new blockchain seen as 'massive confidence vote' for Ethereum

One Ethereum bull hopes the launch will help onboard a host of other crypto companies and financial institutions onto Ethereum. The Ethereum community appears to have taken a bullish view of Coinbase’s newly announced layer-2 network, Base, which has been described as a “massive confidence vote” and a “watershed moment” for the blockchain network.  Secured on Ethereum and powered by layer-2 network Optimism, Base aims to eventually become a network for building decentralized applications (DApps) on the blockchain. The layer-2 network is currently in its testnet phase, according to Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. 0/ Hello world. Meet Base, an Ethereum L2 that offers a secure, low-cost, developer-friendly way for anyone, anywhere, to build decentralized apps. Our goal with Base is to make onchain the next online and onboard 1B+ users into the cryptoeconomy.https://t.co/Znuu3o3pJw — Base (@BuildOnBase) February 23, 2023 Members of the crypto community, such as Ryan Sean Adams, host...

Payments provider Affirm to sunset crypto program after 19% staff cut

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Users will not be able to buy Bitcoin after Mar. 2, and the “Affirm Crypto Program” will officially shut down on Mar. 31. Max Levchin, the CEO of buy-now-pay-later company Affirm, has confirmed that they will be shutting down their “Affirm Crypto Program” amid dampening consumer spending and a changing macroeconomic environment. The CEO released a letter to shareholders on Feb. 8 alongside a 19% staff cut. He cited uncertain macroeconomic conditions and the need to offset some liabilities on the firm’s balance sheet as the two main reasons behind the decision: “In a period of increased economic uncertainty, we are doubling down on our core businesses, delaying projects with less certain revenue timelines, and aligning our operating expenses with revenue. Concurrent with reducing our workforce, we are sunsetting several initiatives, such as Affirm Crypto.” The firm’s chief financial officer Michael Linford said the decision was made to meet profitability goals. “We have taken decisive ...

Bitcoin miner CleanSpark expands operations in Georgia

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Some BTC miners have declared bankruptcy or sought financial aid to stay afloat. Others are finding unique ways to grow amid the bear market. Bitcoin (BTC) miner CleanSpark is expanding operations in the state of Georgia, adding to its mining capacity despite the ongoing bear market.  Groundbreaking on a new 50-megawatt Bitcoin Mining facility in Washington, Georgia, is underway, with expected completion in late spring, CleanSpark disclosed on Jan. 19. The nearly $16 million expansion is expected to increase the company’s hashrate by 2.2 exahashes per second, with total hashrate reaching as high as 8.7 EH/s. The expanded facility will host up to 16,000 miners, including newly added Antminer S19j Pro and Antminer S19 XP models. Expansion alert: $CLSK has broken ground on phase 2 of our #WashingtonGA # Bitcoin Mining site! It will hold up to 16,000 miner s. With projected completion of the 50 MW in late spring, we expect our #hashrate to reach as high as 8.7 EH/s. More: https://t.co/q...

Ex-Coinbase manager's brother sentenced to 10 months in insider trading case

This is believed to be the first insider trading case involving cryptocurrency. The brother of a former Coinbase product manager , Nikhil Wahi, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy charges, in what is believed to be the first inside r trading case involving cryptocurrency.  As reported by Reuters, Nikhil Wahi pleaded guilty in September to initiating trades based on confidential information obtained from his brother , Ishan Wahi, who was a former Coinbase product manager . Ex-Coinbase manager's brother sentenced to 10 months in insider trading case https://t.co/Kyy6DqSb9D pic.twitter.com/ruQjwr5i4h — Reuters (@Reuters) January 10, 2023 Nikhil Wahi admitted to trading with the use of inside information obtained from Coinbase. According to the federal prosecutors in Manhattan, Ishan Wahi, a former product manager, had shared confidential information regarding new digital assets that Coinbase was planning to add to its trading platform, with both...

Marathon Digital experiments with overclocking to increase competitive advantage

According to the company, it produced 475 BTC in December 2022, bringing its total mined Bitcoins in the fiscal year of 2022 to 4,144 BTC. One of the largest Bitcoin mining operations in North America, Marathon Digital Holdings, has shared in an update that it has been experimenting with overclocking to increase its competitive advantage in the Bitcoin mining industry. Overclocking is the practice of increasing the clock speed of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) or graphics processing unit (GPU) beyond the manufacturer’s rated maximum speed, potentially leading to improved performance in certain tasks.  According to the company's press release, it produced 475 BTC in December 2022, bringing its total mined Bitcoins in the fiscal year of 2022 to 4,144 BTC, a 30% increase from 3,197 BTC which was produced in 2021.  Marathon’s Chairman and CEO, Fred Thiel commented on the company’s decision to experiment with overclocking , saying: “These efforts position us to develop our...

Which celebrities joined and left crypto in 2022?

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Sports players, movie stars, models, musicians; the gang's all here, with more celebrities entering the blockchain space with each passing month. Will that trend continue in 2023? The crypto world is still developing at lightning speed. The adoption of projects built on blockchain technology has increased tremendously in 2022, and this is partly due to the celebrities who have contributed to it. Thanks to these well-known people, crypto-related projects have reached a large audience, through their social media accounts and the many news outlets that wrote about them. The developments in cryptocurrencies, nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse platforms have led to new ways people can make money and alternative methods to consume art and entertainment. They have also led to innovative ways people can communicate and interact with one another online. For example, people can even connect with their idols in this digital meeting place. But are there any celebrities left in the crypto...