Cryptocurrency

Crypto prices were little enthused by the release of more details on an upcoming project by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, which appears to be a banking or exchange platform. Bitcoin climbed 1.4% to $59,399.0 by 08:44 ET (12:44 GMT). The token remained squarely within a $50,000 to $60,000 trading range seen through most of the year.The team behind World Liberty Financial- an upcoming crypto project backed by the Trump family- unveiled some key details on the project during a launch event on X on Monday evening. The project appears to be a crypto banking and exchange platform, and will have its own native token- WLFI- which will be distributed among the founding team and released for sale to the general public. About 20% of the tokens will be reserved for the founders, 17% will be reserved for rewards, and 63% of the float will be released to the public. Trump spoke briefly during the event, which was hosted on X. He reiterated plans to make America the “crypto capital” of the world, but gave scant details on said plans.Trump has campaigned on a largely pro-crypto stance for the 2024 presidential election race. But he was seen lagging Democratic candidate Kamala Harris after a fiery debate last week. Harris has so far given few details on her plans for crypto, but is expected to continue the Biden administration’s crackdown against the sector. Broader cryptocurrency prices also moved in a tight range, with focus turning squarely to a Fed meeting this week.World no.2 crypto Ether rose 0.5% to $2,314.69, while XRP added 2%. ADA and SOL traded flat, while MATIC added 1.9%Among meme tokens, DOGE fell 0.5%. The Fed is widely expected to cut interest rates and signal an easing cycle when it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Traders were seen pricing in a greater chance that the Fed will cut rates by 50 basis points, up from prior expectations for a 25 bps cut. Lower rates bode well for crypto, given that they free up liquidity that can be deployed into speculative assets. But the sector saw little price action in anticipation of Wednesday’s decision.Hashprice, a measure of a Bitcoin miner’s daily profitability, has dropped 2% this month and remains more than 50% below pre-halving levels, JPMorgan revealed in a recent report. The bank warned that this decline, “coupled with seasonal curtailment, could slow near-term hashrate growth.””U.S.-listed miners’ share of the network hashrate increased for the fifth consecutive month to 26.7%, the highest level on record,” JPMorgan analysts also highlighted.Bitcoin mining stocks declined in the first half of September as Bitcoin’s price stayed below $60,000, while the network’s hashrate climbed, according to a report from JPMorgan on Monday. The hashrate has risen 4% month-to-date and has now returned to pre-halving levels. The hashrate is a measure of the total computational power used in mining and processing transactions on proof-of-work blockchains and serves as an indicator of competition in the mining industry.JPMorgan tracks the market cap of 14 U.S.-listed bitcoin miners, which collectively fell 3% since the end of August to just under $20 billion. Among these miners, Hut 8 Corp (TSX:HUT) outperformed with an 11% gain, while CleanSpark Inc (NASDAQ:CLSK) lagged behind, declining 12%.Ambar Warrick contributed to this report.  More

After the initial phase, Mythical Games will spend two weeks conducting checks to verify all on-chain data. Trading for Blankos NFTs is expected to resume around mid-to-late October. During the migration, players might see their Blankos items reappear in their accounts, but trading will remain disabled until the team completes all final checks, Mythical Games said in a blogpost.Blankos Block Party launched in 2020 after gaining early interest at SXSW 2019. The game lets players design and customize characters called Blankos, which are digital vinyl toys represented as NFTs. These NFTs give players ownership of their digital assets, allowing them to trade or sell their characters. The game is popular for its user-generated content, featuring a variety of platformer-style games like speed runs and shooter mini-games, often described as a Web3 version of Roblox.Blankos Block Party’s move to Polkadot follows NFL Rivals, another game developed by Mythical Games, which transitioned to Polkadot’s Parachain through the Mythos Chain. The transition will also bring a range of new intellectual property (IP) partnerships to Polkadot, including collaborations with brands like Burberry and artists such as Deadmau5.For many players, the switch to Polkadot brings security, scalability, and quicker transaction speeds. John Linden, CEO of Mythical Games, cited these attributes as key reasons for choosing Polkadot to host Blankos Block Party.Led by gaming industry veterans, Mythical Games builds games around player-owned economies and has been involved in developing major franchises like Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Marvel Strike Force, and Skylanders.The Mythical Platform provides both custodial and non-custodial gaming wallets for digital items. This setup protects gamers who are new to blockchain while allowing advanced players to link their own wallets through bridges between the Mythical Chain and public mainnets. More

The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) system helps bootstrap crypto credit markets, where traders can borrow against crypto collateral. In a note dated Monday, Bernstein analysts said DeFi yields were boosted by incentives from application tokens during the 2020-2021 crypto boom.  “For example, if plain vanilla lending USDC stablecoin offered a 3% yield, the free token incentives would juice the yield to 15-20%,” the analysts wrote. However, these high yields were unsustainable, and as interest rates increased in 2022-2023, even standard USD stablecoin yields became less attractive compared to US money market yields.Now, with the rate cycle turning dovish and a new crypto cycle emerging, there is renewed interest in DeFi markets. “The crypto lending markets are waking up,” the analysts said. On Aave, the largest lending market on Ethereum, lending yields for stablecoins range from 3.7% to 3.9%. Bernstein estimates that if crypto traders’ demand for credit increases, DeFi yields could rise above 5%, beating money market yields.According to Bernstein, various metrics point to a recovery in the DeFi market. The total value locked in DeFi protocols is now about $77 billion, which is double the 2022 low but still half of its 2021 peak. Since January 2023, the number of unique monthly DeFi users has tripled or quadrupled, and the supply of fiat-backed stablecoins in circulation has hit a new high of $158 billion. “All signs point to a recovering crypto DeFi market that should gain more momentum as rates go down,” the note added.Reflecting this trend, Bernstein has added the Aave token to its digital assets basket, replacing derivative protocols like GMX and SNX. “Total outstanding debt on Aave, the largest lending market, is up 3x from the January 2023 bottom, and the Aave token is up 23% in the last 30 days,” the note said, even as Bitcoin prices have remained flat or declined.Bernstein also addressed the relative underperformance of Ethereum compared to Bitcoin. “Unlike strong inflows into Bitcoin ETFs year-to-date, Ethereum ETFs have seen net outflows in the last seven weeks since launch,” the broker noted. However, the analysts believe that rebuilding DeFi lending markets on the Ethereum mainnet could attract large investors back to the crypto credit markets, sparking a turnaround for Ethereum and helping it outperform Bitcoin.”Unlike Bitcoin, which is a store of value driven by supply and demand, Ethereum’s growth is led by the usage of its underlying network, with DeFi markets being the largest use case,” Bernstein explained. “We believe it may be time to turn back attention to DeFi and Ethereum.” More

The world’s largest martial arts organization will leverage Sui’s technology for its products and highly anticipated mobile game ONE Fight Arena built in partnership with Animoca BrandsSui, a cutting-edge Layer 1 blockchain, today announced it will be the official blockchain partner of ONE Championship (“ONE”), the world’s largest martial arts organization. ONE events represent the full spectrum of martial arts, with world-class athletes from more than 80 countries competing across MMA, Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, and other disciplines. The partnership was announced during a panel at Sui’s Singapore Builder House during Token2049, the world’s largest crypto event.Through this partnership, Sui will be integrated into various ONE products, including ONE Fight Arena, the promotion’s highly anticipated official Web3-enabled free-to-play mobile game, built in partnership with Animoca Brands and its subsidiary Notre Game. ONE Fight Arena features ONE’s robust roster of world champion martial artists and vast IP library.The mobile game will leverage Sui’s world-class technology to provide a novel gaming experience with true digital ownership at its core, while allowing ONE to directly engage with its global fan base in a deeper manner. Sui’s integrations will include a comic/manga series about ONE athletes accessible through zkLogin and powered by the Walrus protocol on Sui, a free-to-play pick’em game where fans can win a variety of rewards and phygital collectibles that blend physical and digital aspects.This article was originally published on Chainwire More

Forge, the leading platform for community-driven game marketing and player engagement, is thrilled to reveal its new slate of strategic investors which includes leading gaming protocols Ava Labs and Sui Foundation. The new investors join just in time as Forge crosses a significant milestone of over 1 million registered users. This achievement marks a major step forward in Forge’s mission to revolutionize how games not only connect with but reward their players.Since its launch less than one year ago, Forge has rapidly grown into a vibrant ecosystem where players can earn rewards by playing new games and joining their communities, creating a symbiotic environment where players and developers benefit. Crossing the 1 million user mark is a testament to the platform’s appeal to both gamers and developers alike, as it continues to transform the landscape of game distribution and community engagement.Forge is proud to welcome new angels and strategic investors who share in its vision of transforming game marketing. Joining this strategic round in addition to Ava Labs and Sui Foundation are Chris Wang founder of ThunderCore protocol, Dingaling, James Zhang of Crypto Art House, Shan of Project Godjira and advisory firm AP Collective. These strategics join a growing roster supporting Forge’s ongoing growth and innovation, including EVG, Formless, Hashkey, LiquidX, Polygon, and angels CH Kim (KRAFTON), Gabby Dizon (YGG), Kevin Lin (Metatheory/Twitch), Matt Liu (Origin Protocol), Michael Tong (Xterio), Ralf Reichart (ESL), Ray Chan (9gag/Memeland), Sebastien Borget (The Sandbox), Steve Chen (Youtube), Teck Chia (BinanceX/f.actor).In addition to this user milestone, Forge has proudly partnered with over 60 games that have leveraged the platform to grow their communities. From indie developers to established studios, these partners have utilized Forge’s innovative tools to drive over 25 million in-game and community engagementsAbout ForgeForge is a leading games marketing platform dedicated to helping developers grow their communities and drive engagement in their games. Launched in 2023, Forge provides game developers with powerful, no-code tools to create customizable loyalty programs that turn players into passionate advocates and active participants. Forge’s mission is to make user acquisition and community engagement accessible and effective for all developers, enabling them to focus on creating amazing games. With a vibrant community of over 1 million users, Forge empowers developers to build lasting relationships with their players, fostering a new era of creativity and innovation in the gaming industry. Game developers and gamers alike can register at forge.gg to start their journey.ContactMonique Gonzalezggwp@fortyseven.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

In a recent X post, Schiff highlighted what he sees as a concerning chart pattern, describing it as a “triple top,” a formation that he believes signals a potential decline. This suggests that, “at minimum,” it may fall to the upward trend line at around $42,000 may and not even hold for long there. Schiff thinks it is more likely that Bitcoin will retest the longer-term support levels at around $20,000.In his warning, the cryptocurrency critic also issued a grim counterpoint to the optimistic perspective of Michael Saylor, as Schiff’s comment signals a direct challenge to Saylor’s bullish stance, cautioning him to “look out below.”Having invested heavily in Bitcoin on behalf of his company, Saylor has been a key figure pushing the narrative of Bitcoin as a long-term store of value.This response, though lighthearted, further reflects Schiff’s deep skepticism of such radical projections, reinforcing his belief that these extreme price forecasts rest on highly unlikely conditions.This article was originally published on U.Today More

As analyst James Butterfill explains, the major rebound in inflows is mostly due to a change in how the market thinks about the chance of an interest rate cut by 50 basis points on Sept. 18.Despite the recent positive turn, Bitcoin’s month-to-date figures show $209 million in outflows, which is a pretty stark contrast to its year-to-date inflows, which have reached an impressive $20.775 billion. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that short-Bitcoin vehicles saw an outflow of $8.5 million, after three weeks of inflows. Ethereum is facing its own set of challenges and saw $19 million in outflows, with still $708 million year-to-date inflows. On the other hand, Solana showed some staying power, amounting to $3.8 million with its fourth straight week of inflows.Vehicles oriented around blockchain technologies also have seen a positive shift, with $105 million in inflows thanks to the seeding and launch of several new ETFs on the U.S. market.Matt Hougan, the CIO of Bitwise, recently said that he is interested in launching ETFs centered on meme cryptocurrencies. This means that assets like Shiba Inu (SHIB) or Dogecoin (DOGE) might soon be available for investment, which will give investors more options.This article was originally published on U.Today More

MicroStrategy now holds over 245,000 BTC, or nearly 1.2% of the total Bitcoin supply. This huge amount accounts for 1.17% of the total Bitcoin supply, which is limited to 21 million coins. For scale, this is far larger than the amounts owned by Bitcoin ETFs, Grayscale GBTC and Fidelity’s FBTC.Since its first Bitcoin purchase in August 2020, MicroStrategy has consistently increased its holdings, making headlines with each acquisition.According to a Sept. 13 update offered by Michael Saylor, the company’s chairman and cofounder, MicroStrategy has acquired 18,300 BTC for nearly $1.11 billion at roughly $60,408 per Bitcoin and has achieved a BTC yield of 4.4% QTD and 17.0% YTD. As of Sept. 9, MicroStrategy held 244,800 BTC acquired for nearly $9.45 billion at nearly $38,585 per Bitcoin.At press time, the largest digital asset was trading at $58,539, down as much as 2.8%. The majority of cryptocurrencies also nursed losses.The first U.S. rate cut in more than four years signals looser financial conditions, which are normally favorable for riskier assets like cryptocurrencies.Bitcoin saw $436 million in inflows over the last week, following a 10-day outflow of $1.18 billion. Short-Bitcoin flows reversed, with outflows of $8.5 million following three weeks of inflows.According to the most recent CoinShares report, digital asset investment products experienced a reversal, with inflows hitting $436 million following a period of outflows of $1.2 billion.This article was originally published on U.Today More