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    Standard Chartered sets $125,000 2024 year-end target for Bitcoin if Trump wins

    The firm’s forecast reflects a broader positive outlook on Bitcoin and digital assets, driven by several key factors, regardless of the election outcome.Standard Chartered outlined its expectations, stating, “We see BTC at c.USD 125,000 level at end-2024 under a Trump victory, or c.USD 75,000 level under Harris.”Both projections represent fresh all-time highs for Bitcoin, underscoring Standard Chartered’s generally optimistic view on the cryptocurrency’s future.The analysts highlighted that the US election will influence digital assets, but they believe the impact will be less significant than in previous election cycles.”Progress on relaxing regulations – particularly the repeal of SAB 121, which imposes stringent accounting rules on banks’ digital asset holdings – will continue in 2025 no matter who is in the White House; it would just be slower under a Harris presidency,” said the firm.The anticipated regulatory progress is seen as a crucial factor supporting Bitcoin’s price.Additionally, Standard Chartered expects positive momentum from developments in US Treasury markets and a seasonal rebound in Bitcoin ETF inflows in October.”Current developments in US Treasury markets – a re-steepening curve, with breakevens falling less than real yields and risk-neutral yields falling while term premium is stable – are building positive momentum for BTC,” adds the firm.Even if a Harris victory initially triggers a price decline, the analysts believe that subsequent market recognition of ongoing regulatory progress and other positive drivers will lead to a rebound.Overall, Standard Chartered’s analysis suggests that Bitcoin is poised to reach new heights by the end of 2024, regardless of the election outcome. More

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    America has an innovation and incumbency problem

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    Hyperbridge raises $2.5M in seed funding to back use of Polkadot’s architecture

    The funds are set to back Hyperbridge’s use of Polkadot’s architecture to support decentralized applications and improve scalability within the Web3 ecosystem.With its cross-chain tech, Hyperbridge is used by projects like Succinct, Axelar, Union, and Avail. Recently, the protocol secured a parachain slot on Polkadot and raised an extra $2.7M through a crowd loan, which turned out to be the most successful one on the network.Moreover, Hyperbridge is developing cross-chain interoperability using a hub model to scale verifiable interoperability across multiple blockchains. It integrates zero-knowledge technology and mechanistic protocols to offer secure cross-chain messaging and storage query solutions.“Hyperbridge represents a significant step towards a cross-chain future, embodying the highest standards of security, scalability, and innovation,” said Fabian Gompf, CEO of Web3 Foundation. “By building on Polkadot’s robust framework, Hyperbridge empowers the ecosystem with verifiable, unstoppable interoperability, setting a new benchmark for secure cross-chain solutions.”Hyperbridge focuses on security by working with the team behind Polkadot’s security audits. Its zk light clients for Polkadot and Ethereum offer a verifiable alternative to traditional multisig bridge models for cross-chain communication and interoperability.Mark Cachia, CIO of Scytale Digital, noted, “Hyperbridge addresses critical security flaws in traditional bridges and sets a new standard for verifiable interoperability.”Based on Polkadot’s design, which is optimized for interoperability and fast transaction finality, Hyperbridge offers cross-chain messaging and storage capabilities from the outset, supporting various applications, including stablecoins and decentralized finance (DeFi).Hyperbridge also supports use cases such as non-custodial native bridges for liquidity, multichain expansion for digital assets, and new cryptoeconomic coprocessors for on-chain insurance protocols and zk aggregation. Seun Lanlege, founder of Polytope Labs, which developed Hyperbridge, explained the platform’s security features, saying, “Hyperbridge disintermediates traditional authentication methods by using finality and storage proofs.” More

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    Wolfe maintains a bearish view on Bitcoin, crypto ‘until trend improves’

    According to the firm, “it has not been a pretty past few months for Crypto, or for risk assets in general.”They note that Bitcoin is now down 25% from its highs, while Ethereum and Solana have fallen even more, down 45% and 40% respectively.”We are seeing Crypto underperform every major assert class with any signs of relief absent thus far,” adds the firm.They believe that “risk appetite and overall confidence is at a multi-year low,” which is reflected in investors’ reluctance to place bets on the crypto market.This lack of enthusiasm has also led to gold significantly outperforming Bitcoin since March, according to Wolfe Research.The firm stresses that its proprietary trend model, which has successfully guided investors over the past five years, turned negative on Bitcoin in April.Since then, they state it has only briefly moved to a neutral stance before reverting to bearish territory.”At the end of the day, we are objective trend followers, and thus will continue to maintain a bearish view on Crypto until trend improves,” Wolfe analysts said.Looking ahead, Wolfe Research pointed out a key price level for Bitcoin, suggesting that if the cryptocurrency falls below $50,000, the next major area of support will be around $42,000.Until the overall trend changes, Wolfe remains cautious on crypto, waiting for signs of a meaningful recovery. More

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    Edge, the New Decentralized Oracle Protocol by Chaos Labs, Emerges from Stealth with Jupiter; $30B Volume Secured Over the Last 2 Months

    Jupiter, the leading Solana trading platform, upgrades to Edge by Chaos Labs for enhanced protocol stabilityChaos Labs, the industry leader in onchain risk management, today announced the launch of Edge, a decentralized oracle protocol, powering Jupiter, the leading perpetuals exchange on Solana. Over the past two months, Edge has already secured $30 billion in trading volume on Jupiter, establishing Chaos’ new price feed solution as a leader in the low-latency oracle category.According to the team, fragmentation of liquidity and price discovery across networks has made asset pricing increasingly complex. For leveraged markets, any pricing inaccuracy becomes a potential exploit vector. As protocols move towards trading higher leverage instruments and listing more illiquid assets, integrating a price oracle solution resilient to outliers and anomalies at such fine granularity is essential.Additionally, Chaos labs assesses that decentralized applications have traditionally relied on “messenger oracles,” a term used to describe oracle solutions that seek to outsource the responsibility of ensuring data quality to other trusted entities. The trouble with being unopinionated about the price content methodology is twofold: it absolves the oracle from accountability in the event of misprints and creates opacity around how the data is sourced and validated.In response to demand from customer protocols for an upgraded oracle solution, Chaos Labs built the Edge Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Network for any onchain application with a market.The protocol’s design reflects the company’s central thesis that risk data and price data are inextricably linked. Edge offers a comprehensive, low-latency oracle solution, combining accurate price data with actionable market intelligence. Its advanced architecture ensures the security and efficiency of DeFi applications while providing insights into market dynamics and security risks.Edge monitors the market for specific risk signals, performs the offchain data parsing and computation, and outputs one actionable data point.Chaos Labs possesses a deep understanding of market dynamics, which has been instrumental in managing risk for top DeFi protocols. By applying their expertise to complex risk analysis to price feed products, Chaos has built an oracle network that delivers not just basic reported prices, but also various risk-related factors like volatility, liquidity, and broader market behaviors.By accounting for liquidity and volatility, Edge algorithms adjust prices to try and prevent distortions from sudden price spikes or dips, aiming to ensure more accurate and reliable price feeds that reflect real-time market conditions. This enables Edge price feeds to offer more precise and timely insights, aiming to consistently outperform traditional oracles.Price oracles typically report similar values under normal market conditions but may show significant differences during extreme events, such as sudden price spikes. Edge incorporates multiple data points and risk metrics to provide price feeds designed to remain reliable during periods of high volatility.Edge is comprised of three components:● Price: Delivers high-precision price data with an integrated risk engine powered by Chaos’ advanced outlier and anomaly detection algorithm● Risk: Automates delivery of real-time parameter adjustments onchain based on current market conditions.● Proofs: Enables the secure on-chain delivery of custom data points, including reserve attestations delivered via zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs).This announcement follows a recent successful $55 million Series A led by Haun Ventures with participation from funds including Spartan Capital, Galaxy Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Slow Ventures. Chaos Labs will be sharing more announcements related to Edge in the coming weeks.About Chaos Labs Chaos Labs leads the blockchain risk management industry with innovative solutions for the evolving onchain financial landscape. Chaos Labs enables protocols to verify stability across all market conditions, merging offchain observability with onchain risk parameter adjustments. Backed by leading venture capital firms, Chaos Labs continues to set new standards for security and responsiveness in onchain finance. Founded in 2021, Chaos Labs is headquartered in New York City.About JupiterJupiter is the premier trading destination on Solana, with a powerful trading suite across Jupiter Spot & Perps. Jupiter Perps is currently the #1 Oracle-based Perps Exchange, or the #3 across all PerpDEXes.ContactVP Business OperationsNetta GoldbergChaos [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    EU rejects Chinese EV makers’ bid to avert hefty tariffs

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    Morph Massively Expands In Scope, Introduces the Global Consumer Layer

    Morph has created a true consumer layer dedicated to making blockchain applications an enduring reality for everyday usersMorph, a fully permissionless up-and-coming Layer 2 network on Ethereum, introduces its technology as the global consumer layer for driving blockchain adoption for the mass markets. In an era where blockchain’s potential has been heralded as revolutionary, the gap between its promise and mainstream adoption remains significant. While blockchain boasts decentralization, transparency, and security, only 3.9% of the global population interacts with the technology. Morph is here to change that.Blockchain development has largely focused on niche technical improvements such as transaction speeds and enhanced consensus mechanisms. However, these innovations often do little to address the needs of the average consumer. The result is an industry plagued by complexity, inaccessible to the general public. This wall of complexity won’t be breached by a single superapp; it must instead be countered with a robust, coordinated ecosystem of consumer-friendly blockchain products, such as those Morph provides.Morph invites developers, investors, and blockchain enthusiasts to be part of its vision:Morph is the global consumer layer, acting as the distribution hub for the resources builders need to launch and scale for the mass-market. It leverages a hybrid solution of ZK and Optimistic roll-up technology and a decentralized sequencer to enable limitless possibilities within mainstream audiences, making it a user-friendly option for developers who require a chain to build these types of apps. Bitget, the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange, is an original investor in Morph that will continue to play a role amongst the other investors in shaping the Morph ecosystem.ContactM Group on Behalf of [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    Particle Network Integrates Elastos Mainnet, Enabling Web2 Logins And Gasless Transactions

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    By simplifying the typically complex blockchain onboarding process , users can now engage with Elastos dApps without the need for crypto wallets, seed phrase management, or paying gas fees. For example, a user can log in with a Bitcoin wallet to take out a stablecoin loan using collateralized Bitcoin via Elastos’ BeL2. This funding can be used right away on the Elacity marketplace without needing ELA for gas, as those fees are covered automatically in the background. This makes the process more convenient while retaining the benefits of decentralization, including control over personal data, direct peer-to-peer interactions, and strong security and integrity.The ability to hide complexity from users is a strategic driver for Elastos. By working with Particle Network, Elastos is able to simplify the process for users to interact with decentralized applications and BTC-backed services. This complements the work it has been doing with the BeL2 protocol to keep Bitcoin secure on its main network using zero-knowledge proofs to verify transactions and transfer collateral information across chains. Pengyu Wang, Particle Network’s Founder, describes Particle Network’s effort toward simplifying the Web3 user experience as a major milestone in making Web3 experiences a part of everyday life.Elastos is a public blockchain project that integrates blockchain technology with a suite of reimagined platform components to produce a modern Internet infrastructure that provides intrinsic protection for privacy and digital asset ownership. The mission is to build accessible, open-source services for the world, so developers can build an internet where individuals own and control their data.The Elastos SmartWeb platform enables organizations to recalibrate how the Internet works for them to better control their own data. https://www.linkedin.com/company/elastosinfo/ About Particle NetworkParticle Network is addressing Web3’s fragmentation of users and liquidity through Universal Accounts. Particle’s chain abstraction is powered by a Cosmos SDK L1 blockchain enabling the experience of a single account, balance, and address that can be used across all chains, allowing users to interact with any dApp and pay gas with any token.For more information, users can go to: https://particle.network/ContactPR LeadRoger [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More