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All of them are miners who earned their 50 BTC for generating a Bitcoin block in 2009 – the year that the world’s pioneer cryptocurrency was launched by enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto. Back then, a block reward constituted 50 BTC until the first BTC halving in 2012, when it was slashed to 25 BTC.All five of these wallets transferred 250 BTC in total – an amount of Bitcoin valued at almost $16 million overall.The price surge in the past 24 hours has been 3.36%. However, it was followed by a marginal drop, and at the time of this writing, BTC is changing hands at $63,545. This impressive growth was triggered by the decision of the Fed Reserve to slash the annual interest rate by 50 basis points.This is the first interest rate cut initiated by the world’s most important central bank in the past four years, as it has pivoted to a dovish stance.This article was originally published on U.Today More
The bank has also stopped paying for some work-related expenses and other benefits at its Beijing branch, the bank’s largest with more than 4,000 employees, as part of the broader salary cuts, one of the sources said.The measures, which have not been reported previously, have been implemented across the board at the Beijing branch, said the source. It was not immediately clear if Minsheng Bank would implement these measures at its other branches.The up to 50% pay cut is the largest such reduction at a major Chinese commercial bank in recent years. Both the sources declined to be named as the information was not public. After the Reuters story was published, Minsheng Bank said the “information was false”, but did not elaborate. China’s banking sector regulator, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.’COMMON PROSPERITY’The pay reduction fits with China’s “common prosperity” drive, which was launched in 2021 to address social and income inequality as growth slowed in the world’s second largest economy. Financial firms in China, both state-owned and private, have implemented measures, including cutting salaries and bonuses, and asking staff not to wear expensive clothes and watches to work.China Construction Bank (OTC:CICHF) Corp (CCB), the nation’s third largest commercial bank by assets, has asked employees at its headquarters to take a pay cut of at least 10%, Reuters reported in July.China Merchants Fund Management, a top 10 fund manager, has asked senior executives to return pay received over the last five years that exceeds a new cap, Reuters reported earlier this month.The pay cuts at Minsheng Bank also reflect profitability concerns as Chinese lenders come under pressure to lower lending costs to stimulate a economy that is verging on deflation and faces a prolonged property crisis. Chinese banks’ net interest margin stood at 1.54% at the end of June, the lowest on record, official data showed.Minsheng Bank is a second tier, joint stock bank. It had 7.7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) in total assets at the end of last year, marking the 11th largest among China’s about 4,600 banking institutions.Founded in 1996 as China’s first privately controlled commercial bank, Minsheng Bank has been hit hard by the nation’s ongoing property crisis. The lender was a major creditor of China Evergrande (HK:3333) Group, which has been at the centre of the country’s property sector crisis. It has also been hit by the financial difficulties of developer China Oceanwide, one of the bank’s biggest shareholders.In the first half of this year, Minsheng Bank’s net profit fell 5.5% year-on-year. Its non-performing loan ratio of real estate loans was 5.29% in the first half of this year, up from 4.92% in 2023.($1 = 7.0530 Chinese yuan renminbi) More
(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Friday, pausing after the previous session’s rally set Wall Street’s main indexes on track for weekly gains following the Federal Reserve’s pivotal stance on monetary policy earlier in the week.The S&P 500 notched its eighth session of gains out of nine on Thursday and closed at an all-time high, breaching its earlier milestone from mid-July. The blue-chip Dow also clinched a record high and settled above the psychological level of 42,000 points.The indexes along with the tech-heavy Nasdaq are on track for weekly gains of over 1%. The S&P 500 is set to buck the historical trend of September being weaker for U.S. equities on average.At 7:12 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 7 points, or 0.02%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 18 points, or 0.31% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 101 points, or 0.50%.Risk appetite got a boost earlier in the week after the Fed kicked off its easing cycle with an oversized 50-basis-point cut and assured that more were on the way. The central bank also projected a period of steady economic growth and low unemployment and inflation.”We appear to be in the benign scenario where the Fed is cutting rates outside of a recession. Historically, that has been a very good combination for equities,” analysts at Deutsche Bank said in a note.Traders now see a 59.7% probability of a 25 bps cut in November, as per the CME Group’s (NASDAQ:CME) FedWatch tool. Expectations are that rates will drop by 72 bps by year-end, as per LSEG data.Investor focus will remain on remarks from Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker later in the day in the absence of major economic data.Some market volatility is expected in the day, as options and futures linked to stock indexes and individual stocks are set to expire simultaneously on the third Friday of the last month of the quarter, in an event called “triple witching”. Among top movers in premarket trading, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) plunged 13.1% after the postal service company, often seen as a bellwether to the U.S. economy, reported a steep drop in quarterly profit and lowered its full-year revenue forecast. Rival United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS) slipped 2.6%. Nike (NYSE:NKE) jumped 6% after the sportswear giant said that former senior executive Elliott Hill will rejoin the company to succeed John Donahoe as president and CEO. Trump Media & Technology shares, majority owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, fell 4.2% after the expiry of its lock-up period that lifts restrictions on insiders to sell the company’s stock.A rebalancing of the main indexes is also expected. Dell (NYSE:DELL) dipped nearly 1%, Palantir Technologies (NYSE:PLTR) fell 2.2% with the stocks expected to join the S&P 500 before the market opens on Sept. 23.Globally, investors mulled whether the world’s dominant economy is set to boom or face a recession. Central banks in the UK and Japan took a more cautious stance on interest rates, days after the Fed’s verdict. Historically, equities have performed well in a rate cutting cycle as lower borrowing costs could ease pressures on corporate profits. However, the outlook appears bleak with the S&P 500’s valuations high above its longterm average. More
Mantle’s flagship game, Catizen, officially launched its token, $CATI, on multiple exchanges today, including Binance, OKX, Bybit, Gate.io, and Bitget. As the most profitable mini-game on Telegram, Catizen seamlessly integrates Telegram with The Open Network / TON (L1) and Mantle Network (L2). $CATI, as the universal token of the Catizen ecosystem, is issued on both the TON and Mantle. It can be used in the mini-app center and open tasks, providing users with the opportunity to participate in the Launchpool “Stake to Earn,” further promoting the development of the entire gaming ecosystem.The $CATI token will exist in a parallel relationship on TON and Mantle, with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens on each. However, the actual total supply will remain at 1 billion across the two blockchains through a locking mechanism. Currently, cross-chain transfers of $CATI can be done through Bybit exchange. The balance between the two chains is maintained through mutual locking contracts. For example, if Catizen airdrops 10 million $CATI to Mantle game users, 990 million $CATI of the 1 billion on Mantle Network will enter the locking contract, while 10 million $CATI of the 1 billion on TON will enter the locking contract to ensure that the total circulation on both chains remains capped at 1 billion.Since receiving Mantle EcoFund’s major investment in February 2023, Catizen, developed by Pluto Studio, has skyrocketed in popularity, becoming one of the most successful blockchain games globally, with over 36 million players. Catizen’s success can be reflected in the following impressive metrics:For more information:Catizen on Mantle statistics: https://dune.com/hashed_official/catizen-mantle $CATI airdrop details: https://x.com/CatizenAI/status/1833554571219898749About MantleMantle Ecosystem comprises an Ethereum layer 2 (L2) — Mantle Network, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) — Mantle Governance, one of the largest on-chain treasuries — Mantle Treasury, and an Ether (ETH) liquid staking protocol — Mantle LSP: all built on Ethereum. Mantle token ($MNT) is the unified product and governance token of the ecosystem. Mantle’s first core product is Mantle Network, an Ethereum L2. Mantle Network strives to be compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Mantle Network’s modular architecture separates transaction execution, data availability, and transaction finality into modules — which can be individually upgraded and adopt the latest innovations. Mantle Network is the first L2 to partner with ETH restaking protocol EigenLayer for the data availability module. By adopting a rollup architecture, Mantle Network is secured by Ethereum. As the world’s first DAO-spawned L2, Mantle Network is pioneering a vision for the mass adoption of token-governed technologies. The current mainnet version, Mantle Network Mainnet v2 Tectonic (Mantle v2 Tectonic), went live on March 15, 2024.Mantle Network’s infrastructure is meticulously designed to handle the demands of the web3 gaming stack, enabling the creation of a connected and expansive gaming universe where assets have real value beyond a single game’s ecosystem. Closely intertwined with Mantle initiatives such as Hyperplay, Mantle Network’s ecosystem of expertise and resources facilitates a streamlined process for developers to build and deploy their gaming projects.To support the next-generation of innovators, builders, and developers, Mantle is growing its ecosystem via Mantle Grants Program and Mantle EcoFund, a catalyzed capital pool of $200M. Mantle’s Showcase Apps program lends additional support and publicity to ecosystem projects in categories such as real world assets (RWA). For more information, readers can please visit:Website | X/Twitter | Devs X/Twitter | Discord | Telegram | YouTube | Blog | GitHubAbout CatizenCatizen is a revolutionary gaming bot on Telegram that seamlessly integrates the messaging app Telegram with multiple blockchains, including TON and Mantle Network. It redefines Web 3.0 experiences by enabling mobile payments with both crypto currencies and fiat currencies. By tapping into Telegram’s vast user base, Catizen aims to create a Web 3.0 traffic hub on an unprecedented scale.Additionally, Catizen is evolving into a Mini-app Center, integrating features from launchpool platforms, such as early access to new projects, token-based activities, transaction capabilities, along with short videos and e-commerce functionalities. This innovative approach will attract and engage users through gamification and strategic Play-to-Airdrop initiatives, transforming how users access and engage with the Web 3.0 ecosystem.For more information, readers can please visit: X | Official Website | Telegram | Telegram Chat | BotContactMantle’s Communications [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More
Though there has been a recent rally, the trend is still exhibiting signs of weakness. Bitcoin is encountering multiple technical obstacles, with the $64,000 mark serving as a crucial boundary. The bearish pattern may be disproved, and further upside may be possible if Bitcoin is able to break above $64,000. The death cross that appeared on Bitcoin practically destroys the chances of the first cryptocurrency to achieve a solid upside rally, unfortunately. Generally speaking, this bearish signal is still active and suggests further downside. Bitcoin must break the downward trend by rising above $64,000 and establishing a higher high in order to negate the death cross and the bearish momentum.Bitcoin’s trading volume has increased, which is encouraging for the currency’s short-term momentum from a technical perspective. Still, readings on the RSI (Relative Strength Index) point to the asset possibly approaching overbought territory, raising the possibility of a pullback should buyers be unable to hold onto the asset.To sum up, we are at a turning point for Bitcoin. Indicating additional downside risk, a failure to break above $64,000 could validate a lower high. Conversely, a breakout above this level might cause a change in market sentiment and give the bulls a chance to get back on track.This article was originally published on U.Today More
