Cryptocurrency

“Since we launched the ability for PayPal and Venmo consumers to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrency in their wallets, we have learned a lot about how they want to use their cryptocurrency,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, Senior Vice President of Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Digital Currencies, PayPal. “Business owners have increasingly expressed a desire for the same cryptocurrency capabilities available to consumers. We’re excited to meet that demand by delivering this new offering, empowering them to engage with digital currencies effortlessly.”Additionally, PayPal is enabling U.S. merchants to externally transfer cryptocurrency on chain to third-party eligible wallets. PayPal business account holders can now send and receive supported cryptocurrency tokens to and from external blockchain addresses.PayPal has continuously made significant steps to increase cryptocurrency’s utilization. In 2020, PayPal announced the availability of its customers to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrency directly from their PayPal and Venmo accounts. In 2023, PayPal announced the launch of a U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoin, PayPal USD (PYUSD). In April 2024, we enabled PYUSD as a funding instrument for our Xoom platform, allowing users to pay no transaction fees when using PYUSD to fund eligible transfers to friends and family abroad. Most recently, PYUSD was made available on the Solana blockchain, providing users with the choice of multiple blockchains allowing for increased flexibility and control. More

In a tweet, Arkham Intelligence drew attention to the awakening of a 13-year-old whale with $3.17 million BTC in mid-2011. This is in line with Whale Alert reporting that “a dormant address containing 50 BTC worth $3,173,594 has just been activated after 13.3 years.”This wallet, Akrham Intelligence says, has not made a single move since receiving the coins 13 years ago. Following its reactivation, the Bitcoin wallet sent 20 BTC worth $1.27 million to Bitstamp.In another similar occurrence reported by Arkham Intelligence, a Bitcoin whale with $77 million BTC mined in Bitcoin’s first two months recently transferred 5 BTC to Kraken. These wallets date back to the “Satoshi era,” when Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, was active on public forums between late 2009 and 2011.Arkham Intelligence estimates that this whale still possesses 1,215 BTC worth $77 million. According to his address, the Bitcoin stockpile was mined in February and March of 2009, about two months after Bitcoin’s launch.After moving several times from 2011-2014, the Bitcoin in the wallet was then held dormant for nearly 10 years, during which it increased in value from $474,000 to over $80 million. This whale awakened around three weeks ago and has moved 10 Bitcoins to Kraken so far in three separate transactions.This comes just a few days after another early Bitcoin whale, who mined their Bitcoin around the same time, woke up after 15 years of dormancy to move $16 million of BTC, prompting the question as to why these early Bitcoin whale wallets are suddenly waking up.This article was originally published on U.Today More

The data agency assumes that more Bitcoin repayments from the dysfunctional crypto platform might be coming soon to its creditors.This year, Mt. Gox planned to finally begin compensation repayments to its customers. In total, 142,000 Bitcoin and 143,000 Bitcoin Cash were expected to be paid out in addition to $69 billion yen in fiat.In July, the platform transferred 140,000 Bitcoin valued at roughly $9 billion at the time to various centralized exchanges – Bitstamp, Kraken, BitGo – as it began to prepare for the aforementioned payouts.As reported by U.Today earlier, on Aug. 21, Mt. Gox transferred $709 million worth of Bitcoin to the Bitstamp exchange. On Aug. 14, the platform shoveled 33,141 Bitcoin (valued at approximately $2 billion) to a new blockchain address in preparation for the payouts. A total of 117 BTC was sent to the OKX exchange (the equivalent of roughly $7 million).Pompliano (known to the global cryptocurrency community as Pomp) told CNBC host Andrew Sorkin that he believes Bitcoin to be the best performing asset this year, while gold and oil futures come right after it in terms of gains.He stated that last year he sold all of his Ethereum and acquired Solana instead, trusting that the Solana chain offers a better technology than the second largest crypto platform.As for Bitcoin’s price, Pompliano reckons that due to the recent Fed rate cut and a similar measure announced by the Central Bank of China (PBOC), they are going to attract a lot of cheap capital to the market, and this is where Bitcoin “ends up being a big winner,” Pompliano said.This article was originally published on U.Today More

In his defense of gold and oil, Schiff emphasizes their practical advantages. In the jewelry and electronics industries, among others, gold is used as a trustworthy store of value. Conversely, oil is essential for manufacturing transportation and energy. Since these resources are essential to how contemporary society operates, there is a constant need for them.Schiff, on the other hand, contends that Bitcoin does not address a practical need. Because of its fixed supply and lack of intrinsic utility, Bitcoin’s value is primarily speculative and could plummet if demand declines. Although Schiff presents a legitimate concern regarding Bitcoin’s lack of inherent utility, there are still some benefits to be aware of. With its decentralized financial access, Bitcoin offers a substitute for established banking systems – particularly in nations with unstable economies or repressive political regimes.In these situations, Bitcoin serves as a safe haven for value storage and transfers, while also serving as an inflation hedge. In addition, Bitcoin has gained the title of “digital gold,” a valuable asset for people wishing to diversify their investments outside of established financial assets.One way or another, both Bitcoin and gold serve important purposes for humanity, and it may not be correct to compare them directly. Investors can choose whatever asset they need or are willing to expose themselves to.This article was originally published on U.Today More

Markus reiterated in his post that, aside from Dogecoin and an earlier project called “Bells,” he has not been involved in creating or working on any other cryptocurrency, stating that he has not worked on any cryptocurrency projects since 2014 and has no plans to do so again.”Anything claiming I am affiliated is lying,” Markus added putting to rest any speculation about his involvement with other blockchain initiatives.However, the conversation took a humorous turn when X influencer Ian Miles Cheong cheekily responded with, “But you created Bitcoin.” Markus, brushing off the claim in his characteristic humor, responded, “Yes, and I created the internet and oxygen,” highlighting the absurdity of the speculation.This exchange comes amid a flurry of theories linking various figures in the cryptocurrency world to the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin. The Dogecoin cofounder’s humorous yet firm denial aims to put the speculation to rest and clarify his position within the crypto community.Dogecoin (DOGE) was created in 2013 as a lighthearted alternative to traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin – four years after Bitcoin launched in 2009. Satoshi also disappeared from the scene in 2011, making it unlikely that the Dogecoin founder was Satoshi.There are suggestions that Satoshi might not be a single person. Instead, he may be a group that worked on perfecting and developing the code that powers Bitcoin.Some believe that the complexity of coding used to build Bitcoin would have required more than one person, and it was likely developed by a team of coders. To the present, the mystery of Satoshi remains uncracked.This article was originally published on U.Today More

The EOS Network announces the successful completion of its landmark upgrade to Spring 1.0. This upgrade has introduced the Savanna consensus algorithm, marking a new era in performance, reliability and speed on the network. By enhancing transaction finality to 1 second, EOS has achieved a more than 100-fold improvement over previous iterations. This rapid advancement in speed, security, and scalability sets the stage for future cryptographic breakthroughs.This upgrade reflects the shared vision and dedication of EOS’s global decentralized community, underscoring its commitment to pioneering blockchain innovation.Bart Wyatt, CTO of the EOS Network Foundation, articulated the significance of this strategic development: “With the Spring 1.0 upgrade and the introduction of the Savanna consensus algorithm, we’re achieving something rare in the blockchain world: changing our core consensus algorithm. Very few Layer 1 blockchains have ever done this. I can think of only a handful—Ethereum being the most well known. In doing so, we’re standing on hallowed ground. By bringing EOS to an industry-leading 1-second finality, we’ve taken a massive leap forward, placing EOS at the forefront of blockchain innovation. This isn’t just a technical achievement—it’s about the EOS community taking full ownership.”EOS Network has completed the transition to Antelope Spring 1.0, providing a non-contentious upgrade path. This process demonstrated the collaborative effort within the EOS community, involving extensive beta testing and a distributed activation, carried out by global block producers (BPs).The Savanna consensus algorithm revolutionizes blockchain efficiency. By integrating advanced cryptographic techniques such as aggregate BLS signatures, Savanna ensures rapid, irreversible transactions, boosting both network security, scalability and unlocking new use cases in the blockchain industry. Yves La Rose, CEO of the EOS Network Foundation: “Spring 1.0 marks a pivotal moment for the blockchain industry, introducing the Savanna consensus algorithm with 1-second Instant Finality via cutting-edge BLS cryptographic advancements. This upgrade offers unmatched transaction speed, reliability, and security, laying the foundation for next-generation decentralized applications to flourish. Achieving this was a collaborative feat involving internal teams and external partners, positioning EOS as one of the most technically advanced platforms.As a transformative phase, Spring 1.0 enables new growth opportunities and adoption within the ecosystem. It unlocks unprecedented value for developers and anyone invested in the long-term potential of blockchain innovation. With proven technology and robust infrastructure, the future presents limitless possibilities as EOS propels the industry forward”As EOS Network forges ahead with Spring 1.0, it strengthens the foundation for continued innovation and community development. This significant leap in technology unlocks a vast array of new use cases, enhancing the EOS ecosystem. Follow EOS Network on Twitter or Telegram to stay up to date with the latest enhancements, updates and upgrades to the network. EOS Network FoundationThe EOS Network Foundation (ENF) was forged through a vision for a prosperous and decentralized future. Through our key stakeholder engagement, community programs, ecosystem funding, and support of an open technology ecosystem, the ENF is transforming Web3. Founded in 2021, the ENF is the hub for EOS Network, a leading open source platform with a suite of stable frameworks, tools, and libraries for blockchain deployments. Together, we are bringing innovations that our community builds and are committed to a stronger future for all.ContactChief Communications OfficerZack GallEOS Network [email protected] article was originally published on Chainwire More

It is not known what this is related to or what the purpose is, nor is it known who is hiding behind these addresses. However, one of the clues that has surfaced is that, thanks to data from Arkham Intelligence, one of the sender addresses may belong to Fidelity Custody, a crypto custodian for one of the largest hedge funds in the world with approximately $5.4 trillion in assets under management. This year, Fidelity added its own spot Bitcoin ETF, FBTC, to its asset-heavy portfolio. Are these transfers some sort of internal operation to get their wallets in order, or is there more to it? It is an open question, and we should not rule anything out. In recent days, FBTC has seen more inflows than outflows.Perhaps the movement of $1 billion of Bitcoin between addresses is a confirmation that a new period of positive flows into Bitcoin ETFs awaits us for some time and, therefore, the presence of demand for the cryptocurrency. Demand is, of course, favorable for the price of BTC, which is frozen at 16.5% of its all-time high.This article was originally published on U.Today More

This complements their existing coverage of Iris Energy (IREN). Macquarie said in a note to clients that the companies are well-positioned to benefit from the evolving digital asset landscape, especially as they diversify their operations to include AI and high-performance computing (HPC).The firm highlighted two distinct strategies within the crypto-mining sector. One approach involves miners capitalizing on their access to power infrastructure by diversifying into hosting for non-crypto-related services, such as AI clients. However, analysts note that some miners prefer to stay focused on accumulating Bitcoin, betting on bullish price forecasts. In most cases though, growth mining capacity, and/or land/GPU acquisition for HPC/AI, is being achieved via dilutive equity issuance,” analysts noted.Macquarie said Core Scientific (CORZ) and Iris Energy (IREN) stand out for their early adoption of AI-related hosting, with Core Scientific leading through a hosting deal with CoreWeave, which positions it well in the growing demand for AI compute infrastructure. This is seen as a potential catalyst for significant growth.Cipher Mining (CIFR) is noted for hitting its stride with the completion of its Odessa site and new announcements supporting both Bitcoin mining and HPC. Analysts believe Cipher’s focus on power efficiency and scaling positions it for a near-term inflection in profitability, assigning a $6 target price.The firm said Riot Platforms (RIOT) continues to lead in Bitcoin cooling technology, particularly with its vertically integrated operations that include power and infrastructure management. Macquarie has set a $15 target price for Riot, recognizing its potential for operational efficiency.Finally, Marathon Digital (MARA) and CleanSpark (CLSK) are recognized for their broad exposure to the Bitcoin infrastructure and acquisition strategies, with target prices of $22 and $20, respectively. More