Aurelia Butler

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    in Cryptocurrency

    The end of the Bitcoin euphoria: Why BTC and Ethereum have no future – Experts

    Investing.com – It seems that the days of unstoppable rallies have come to a sudden and unexpected end. Many experts and investors agree: there will be no further BTC bull run. This grim prediction reflects the current sentiment dominating the cryptocurrency market.
    At the beginning of the year, there was a palpable euphoria in the air. Meme-coins were touted as the next big opportunity, with predictions that some coins had the potential to increase their value fiftyfold. Today, however, amid a general pessimism, even moderate forecasts, such as a fivefold increase in prices, appear to be downright wishful thinking.
    The extreme fluctuations in market sentiment are not new in the crypto-universe. This emotionality, which accompanies Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, drives prices to both breathtaking highs and dizzying lows. Crypto investors regularly experience highs followed by subsequent crashes.
    Although the current market situation seems grim, there are still positive developments to be noted. The acceptance of cryptocurrencies is progressing inexorably, which is an indicator of the potential and longevity of these digital assets. A striking example of this is the Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB).
    The ZKB, one of the largest financial institutions in Switzerland, now offers its clients the ability to trade, store, and hold Bitcoin and through their existing mobile apps and e-banking channels.
    This service was introduced on September 4 in collaboration with Crypto Finance, a FINMA-regulated institution. The ZKB’s decision shows that despite extreme market sentiment and predictions about the end of bull runs, a significant movement towards mainstream acceptance of cryptocurrencies is underway.
    The wide acceptance of cryptocurrencies in Switzerland fits well with the overall climate in the country, which is characterized by a positive attitude towards digital assets. Even the Swiss National Bank holds an indirect Bitcoin position, as it owns shares in MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ:), the largest BTC holder in the stock market.
    In conclusion, it can be said that regardless of the current market turmoil and pessimistic forecasts, the movements and real progress within the financial world speak for a long-term stability of this sector. Whether there will ever be another massive bull run remains to be seen, but the fact that more and more traditional financial institutions are integrating cryptocurrencies suggests a brighter future and genuine long-term acceptance.
    Crypto investors looking to diversify their portfolios with undervalued stocks are increasingly using InvestingPro. With this tool, anyone can find undervalued stocks in their target markets and make informed investment decisions. More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Bitcoin Omega Candle Coming: Samson Mow Shows ‘Big Short’ Michael Burry’s Style

    The only difference is that rather than making a “big short” on mortgage bonds in the U.S. market, Mow is taking a “big long” on Bitcoin, with a hunch that the world’s leading cryptocurrency is about to demonstrate an “Omega candle” and soar through the roof.Mow’s comparison of himself to Burry was made in relation to Mow’s confidence (which he believes to be firm knowledge) in a Bitcoin Omega candle coming to hit the market. He stressed this fact, adding that the arrival of this mega-sized green Bitcoin candle “is taking longer than expected.”The advice Mow gives to himself and other believers in Bitcoin is the following: “If your core thesis is correct you just need to keep focused and wait.”Today, however, a big green candle on an hourly chart helped Bitcoin to regain $58,000 briefly. BTC is currently changing hands at $56,832 again.Financial commentator Jim Cramer, took to his X account to clarify what was going on. According to his tweet, the sell-off was focused mainly on everything related to AI technology, data centers and/or computing. But, he pointed out, it was also about selling the stocks of companies dealing with housing, oil and some companies working with infrastructure.Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) giant and leading producer of chips used for cryptocurrency mining and AI training received a subpoena from the U.S. Department of Justice.This article was originally published on U.Today More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    SKALE Labs and Moxy, Founded by Atari Legend Nolan Bushnell, Team Up to Revolutionize Reward-Based Gaming with Gasless Blockchain Innovation

    Nolan Bushnell’s Video Game Tournament Platform, Moxy, Joins Forces with SKALE Labs to Transform Reward-based gaming with Cutting-Edge Blockchain Technology, Removing Gas FeesSKALE, the gas-free invisible blockchain network, is excited to announce a landmark partnership with Moxy, a pioneering video game tournament and gamification platform co-founded by Nolan Bushnell, a founding father of the video game industry and the co-founder of Atari. In the 1970s, Bushnell created the groundbreaking first computerized video game, “Pong.” This collaboration marks a milestone in bridging Web2 games and gamers with a Web3 reward ecosystem. Bushnell is embracing and advancing SKALE’s gasless invisible blockchain technology, signaling a major shift in the gaming industry’s evolution.Bushnell and the Moxy team chose SKALE for its unmatched speed and efficiency. SKALE’s recent Pacifica V3 Upgrade accelerated block mining speed by 108% and increased transaction throughput by 122%, solidifying SKALE as the world’s fastest and most efficient blockchain in the ongoing battle for modularity and next-gen performance.“Our collaboration with SKALE is a game-changer for rewards in gaming. By eliminating gas fees and harnessing SKALE’s high throughput infrastructure, we are setting a new standard for how gamers can earn rewards through gamification,” said Nolan Bushnell, co-founder of Moxy. “We now have the potential to bridge the gap between casual and competitive gaming experiences, creating a seamless and rewarding experience for all users.” As part of this partnership, Moxy will deploy on the SKALE Network and leverage SKALE’s advanced blockchain infrastructure. This deployment on SKALE will save Moxy users an impressive $3.5 million USD in transaction fees annually. Moxy Games will now have the opportunity to significantly elevate its competitive gaming environment and community reward system by integrating advanced features and innovative technologies that enhance player engagement and reward loyalty. This enhancement will not only enrich the gaming experience but also foster a more dynamic and interconnected community.The new partnership between Moxy and SKALE Labs tackles key challenges in blockchain enhanced gaming, such as high gas fees and slow transaction speeds. By leveraging SKALE’s advanced infrastructure, this joint effort represents a significant step forward in enhancing the gaming experience within the rapidly evolving blockchain landscape.For more information, users can visit skale.space or follow SKALE on x.About SKALE LabsSKALE Labs is the foundation behind SKALE, the gas-free invisible blockchain network designed to scale gaming, AI, social, and high-performance dApps to the masses. SKALE is BUILT DIFFERENT. Chains are gas-free, fast, modular, and fully EVM-Compatible, making them ideal for a wide range of decentralized applications. With a commitment to driving the mass adoption of Web3 technologies, SKALE empowers developers and businesses to build scalable, efficient, and user-centric blockchain applications. Harmonizing speed, security, and decentralization, SKALE Labs was born in Cali in 2018 by Jack O’Holleran and Stan Kladko, PhD. As of Q3 2024, the network serves over 5 Million monthly active users and has saved $8 Billion in gas fees.About MoxyMoxy is a trailblazing video game and gamification tournament platform at the forefront of competitive gaming and Web3 reward technology. Through its $MOXY token ecosystem, Moxy offers a unique and rewarding experience for gamers, redefining competitive gaming and expanding the gaming ecosystem. For more information, visit https://moxy.io.ContactSenior PR ManagerWahaj [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

  • 188 Shares169 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    CUBE3.AI Unveils AI-Driven Technology to Detect and Block Rising Tide of New Scams and Fraud

    AI-driven platform detects fraud at its earliest stages, preventing billions in potential crypto lossesAs scams grow more sophisticated and increasingly target crypto for laundering billions in losses, CUBE3.AI is pioneering a new era in fraud prevention. Today, the company announced major enhancements to its platform that bridge the gap between Web2 and Web3, enabling real-time risk assessment and the proactive blocking of scams like pig butchering, ransomware, sextortion, and others.In 2023, investment scams alone led to more than $4.5 billion in losses, with 86% linked to cryptocurrency. A substantial portion of these scams originate in Web2—through social media interactions, fraudulent websites, or other online channels—before transitioning into crypto where recovering stolen assets becomes nearly impossible. While the industry has traditionally focused on either Web2 or Web3, CUBE3.AI leverages unique expertise and proprietary AI technology that seamlessly integrates both realms, enabling the detection and prevention of fraud across the entire digital landscape. This approach addresses a critical gap by offering a holistic view of fraud patterns across both Web2 and Web3, enabling early detection, thorough risk assessment, and timely intervention.About CUBE3.AICUBE3.AI is an innovative platform dedicated to real-time fraud and crypto crime prevention. Utilizing proprietary artificial intelligence models, CUBE3.AI protects digital assets and transactions from fraud, cyber exploits, hacks, scams, and compliance risks, empowering businesses to protect their assets, reduce chargebacks, and minimize financial losses. Our technology not only responds to incidents but also anticipates and prevents them before they occur, safeguarding businesses and individuals from the risks associated with crypto transactions.The company was founded by a team of machine learning researchers, fraud prevention specialists, white hats and blockchain engineers, and is backed by leading investors – including Blockchange Ventures, Dispersion Capital, Symbolic Capital, Hypersphere Ventures, ICLUB and TA Ventures. Users can learn more at www.CUBE3.AI and join CUBE3.AI on LinkedIn, Twitter and Telegram. ContactHead of MarketingRasa [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Cryptocurrency

    Agora-Backed AUSD Stablecoin is Live on Sui

    After successful launches on other major networks, AUSD has deployed on Sui, tapping into the scalable, high-performance network and strengthening Sui’s stablecoin ecosystem.Agora, the stablecoin company led by early-stage finance and technology industry veterans Nick van Eck, Drake Evans, and Joe McGrady, has launched its industry-disrupting AUSD stablecoin on Sui, the Layer 1 blockchain offering industry-leading performance and infinite horizontal scaling. AUSD adds a key dimension to Sui’s surging list of native assets, being the first institutional-grade US dollar stablecoin to deploy in the Sui DeFi ecosystem.“By integrating first-class assets like AUSD natively on the network, Sui is empowering developers and offering essential access to DeFi for a new class of institutional users,” said Gap Kim, Global Head of Marketing for Sui Foundation. “As the Sui ecosystem continues to grow, opportunities for innovation and financial accessibility on Sui will also expand exponentially, benefiting the entire Sui community.”Building on its prior successes on Ethereum and Avalanche, AUSD’s integration into the Sui Network immediately enhances its utility, accessibility, and interoperability. Within the first six weeks of contract deployment on Ethereum and Avalanche, nearly $60M AUSD has been minted with $5M+ of daily DEX volume. The integration has already begun improving liquidity and market efficiency within Sui’s rapidly expanding DeFi ecosystem, which at the time of writing boasted over $600 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) and consistently ranks among the top chains in weekly DEX trading volume. ContactSui [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

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    in Economy

    Cable news channel Newsmax confidentially files for US IPO

    The U.S. IPO market is on a rebound with upcoming rate cuts expected to increase the pace of listings into 2025.The media network, which reaches more than 40 million Americans through its television, streaming, online and print platforms, is seeking to raise up to $75 million in the public offering, which is expected to take place later this year or in early 2025.Founded in 1998 by Christopher Ruddy, Newsmax is one of the more formidable challengers on the right to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News.The company has also launched a private placement as it looks to raise capital before the proposed IPO.Boca Raton, Florida-based Newsmax is seeking to raise at least $150 million through the private placement by offering convertible preferred stock. The private placement, which could potentially raise up to $225 million, is open to investors for a limited time.Companies often file for IPOs confidentially to keep sensitive information under wraps for as long as possible.Newsmax expects to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NMAX”.Digital Offering is the placement agent for the private placement and the proposed IPO. More

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    in Economy

    Falling rates offer scant shelter from property storm

    NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Global property markets, rattled by the steepest rise in interest rates in a generation, will get little relief from the gradual easing of borrowing costs, with scant hope of a return to the free money that fuelled a boom.The multi-trillion dollar industry, which thrived in the decade after the global financial crisis when the cost of money was cut to zero, has been one of the biggest casualties as central banks pushed up borrowing costs.Now central banks, from the European Central Bank and Bank of England to Switzerland and Sweden, are cutting rates, making it cheaper to borrow, with the U.S. Federal Reserve to follow.But industry executives and bankers see no quick fix for an industry built as rock bottom rates sent trillions flowing into property, money the sector is now haemorrhaging as bonds and ordinary savings accounts regain their appeal.”We’re not out of the woods yet,” said Andrew Angeli, global head of real estate research at Zurich Insurance, a Swiss investor, arguing the sector was unlikely to see a rapid recovery.The past two years of rate hikes have claimed scores of victims, including property group Signa, which owned trophy buildings in Germany, leaving behind a trail of half-built homes and empty skyscrapers.Property insolvencies in Germany have been rising since early 2022, according to consultants Falkensteg, to reach more than 1,100 in the first six months of this year. Britain’s construction sector has seen the most insolvencies of any industry for two years running, with roughly 4,300 over the 12 months to June 2024.The pain is acute for offices, hammered by rising borrowing costs and home working, but the impact is spilling over into the vast housing market, which has sunk in Germany and stuttered in Britain.”I’ve never worked so hard in my life and feel like I have nothing to show for it,” said Brian Walker, president of the Pittsburgh-based property company NAI Burns Scalo.”Some will say … we’re probably at the bottom of where the office market is, but I don’t know how you can say that,” said Walker. “You’re starting to see a lot of office buildings keys just go back to the bank.”Cornelius Riese, the CEO of DZ Bank, one of Germany’s biggest property lenders, said higher rates would take three years to work their way through the system. “We’re almost two thirds of the way into the phase in which surprises can crop up,” he said.An economic slowdown in many countries, including Germany and China, is adding to the jitters.  HIGH STAKESReal estate investment firm JLL estimates that a total $2.1 trillion worth of commercial real estate debt globally will need to be repaid this and next year. Borrowers secured refinancing deals to cover almost one third of that in the first six months of this year, but there could be a shortfall next year of up to $570 billion, JLL said. Many U.S. investors have handed back the keys to office blocks to lenders, as Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAM) did with New York’s Brill Building, a landmark made famous by singers such as Neil Diamond, who began their careers as songwriters there. Brookfield did not immediately return a request for comment.Some small banks, who went all in as property boomed, are now under threat.Rebel Cole, a professor of finance at Florida Atlantic University, has identified 62 smaller U.S. banks with outsized property loans. Cole identified a small number of lenders at risk of going bust as they have investments in the largely paralysed property sector, while relying on funding from big deposits that could be pulled at a moment’s notice. “There’s a vast amount of maturities … on loans going to come down the pike next year,” said David Aviram, co-founder of Maverick Real Estate Partners, a New York-based investor. That is pressuring banks to offload loans by trying to sell them but several, who were offered as little as 40% of the debt’s face value, shelved such deals, parking the soured credit on their books instead, said Aviram.Selling buildings is not easier. Earlier this year, a company liquidator knocked around 160 million pounds ($209.89 million), or 60%, off the previous purchase price of an office tower in London’s Canary Wharf, a source familiar with the matter said, but the sale foundered regardless.Some believe banks are in denial. European regulators suspect they may be masking the poor state of loans to the sector by ignoring price falls. Waiting, however, could make the problem worse. A widening chasm is opening between buildings in sought-after locations and those out of favour.In Los Angeles, the Century City commercial district surrounding Fox Studios is doing well, while large swathes of downtown are a “total train wreck”, with many buildings going bust and much space unoccupied, said Jeffrey Williams, a New York-based investor at Schroders (LON:SDR) Capital.In Sweden, one of the worst affected by the property rout, a rate cut is nonetheless giving hope.”It is nicer if you … believe that there will be low capital costs and property prices will possibly rise,” said Leiv Synnes, CEO of SBB, one of its largest troubled groups. “The mood … is completely different now.”   ($1 = 0.7623 pounds) (This story has been refiled to correct the spelling of ‘offer’ in the headline) More

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    France’s Macron names former Brexit negotiator Barnier as new prime minister

    PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as his new prime minister on Thursday, in a bid to put an end to political paralysis following an inconclusive snap election.The discreet, conservative politician will quickly face a baptism of fire as time is running out to prepare France’s 2025 budget, which could trigger a vote of no confidence if parties in the bitterly divided parliament are not satisfied.The leftwing alliance that won June’s election accused Macron of ignoring the result by picking a conservative. It called for demonstrations against Barnier’s selection but does not have enough seats to block the choice on its own.The far-right National Rally (RN), parliament’s biggest single party, indicated it would not block Barnier for now, but could do so later if a range of demands were not met.At 73, Barnier is the oldest prime minister in France’s modern political history, taking over from Gabriel Attal, who was the youngest.”The election has been stolen,” hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said. Another hard-left lawmaker, Mathilde Panot, called it an “unacceptable democratic coup”.Macron had ruled out asking the left to form a government after other parties said they would immediately vote it down.RN leader Jordan Bardella said the party acknowledged Macron’s choice and would judge Barnier’s “general policy speech, his budgetary decisions and his actions on their own merit”.”We will plead for the major emergencies of the French — the cost of living, security, immigration – to finally be addressed, and we reserve all political means of action if this is not the case in the coming weeks.”Barnier is a staunch pro-European and a moderate career politician, but he toughened his discourse considerably during his failed 2021 bid to get his conservative party’s ticket for the presidential election, saying immigration was out of control.Barnier first became a lawmaker aged 27, and later held roles in several French governments, including foreign minister and agriculture minister. He is best known abroad for having led the EU’s talks with Britain over its exit from the bloc from 2016-2021.Macron had considered a string of potential prime ministers in recent weeks, none of whom mustered enough support to guarantee a stable government, which was his main goal. ‘OUT OF MOTHBALLS’French bank shares edged up after Barnier was appointed. Government borrowing costs fell slightly after the announcement, while the euro nudged higher, in positive signs from financial markets.Barnier’s political views are overall close to Macron’s, and it was crucial for the French president that his new prime minister not try to undo reforms pushed through over the past years, in particular pension changes that angered the left.It remains unclear if Barnier will fully try to implement Macron’s political agenda or bring in new proposals. He will need in any case to negotiate with other parties to get legislation adopted in parliament.As Macron’s hunt for a prime minister dragged on, public finances deteriorated and outgoing Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire has said that tens of billions of euros in budget cuts are needed to plug the hole.Macron’s gamble to call the snap parliamentary election in June backfired, with his centrist coalition losing dozens of seats and no party winning an absolute majority. Voters did, however, rally to deny the RN a victory.RN lawmaker Laurent Jacobelli said a condition for not voting Barnier down would be that parliament be dissolved as soon as possible – which would be early July next year. Barnier should also signal support for a change to proportional representation to replace France’s system of two-round voting for single constituencies, he said.He made clear the RN was not particularly enthusiastic about Barnier. “They are taking out of mothballs those who have governed France for 40 years,” Jacobelli told TF1. More