Cryptocurrency

FLOKI, the cryptocurrency ecosystem, announced today that Valhalla, a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) spin on the classic Creature-Collection adventure, will be the Associate Sponsor for India’s Tour of Sri Lanka. This partnership will give Valhalla significant visibility through mid-wicket pitch mats, ground LED boards, backdrops, and other high-visibility ground assets.Floki is the people’s cryptocurrency and the utility token of the Floki Ecosystem. FLOKI aims to become the world’s most known and used cryptocurrency, focusing on utility, philanthropy, community, and marketing.India will be touring Sri Lanka following their historic T20 World Cup championship win in the USA. The series will commence with back-to-back T20Is on July 27, followed by ODIs starting on August 1, with a two-day gap between each match. The series is expected to attract significant viewership, with estimations predicting a cumulative viewership of 180 to 220 million for both the ODI and T20I series.Sri Lanka Cricket expressed excitement about the partnership, stating it will bring more visibility and engagement to the sport.A Media Representative for FLOKI said, “It is with great enthusiasm that we at FLOKI step into a partnership to sponsor the India Tour of Sri Lanka 2024, an arena where the sport’s heart beats as fervently as our dedication to being a cryptocurrency for all.”About ValhallaValhalla is a spin on the classic Creature-Collection adventure set in a vibrant, lively, MMORPG open-world inspired by Norse mythology. Players interact with a diverse set of eccentric creatures called Veras, discovering, taming, training, and trading them. Alone or as a clan, players partake in a dynamic, player-driven economy to rise in community ranks and achieve tactical supremacy on the hexagonal-grid battlefield.Website: Valhalla.gameAbout FlokiFloki is the people’s cryptocurrency and utility token of the Floki Ecosystem. Floki aims to become the world’s most known and used cryptocurrency, focusing on utility, philanthropy, community, and marketing. Floki currently has over 490,000 holders and a strong brand recognized globally thanks to strategic marketing partnerships.For more information, users can visit Floki’s:Website | YouTube | Telegram | Instagram | TikTok | Discord | Facebook (NASDAQ:META) | Reddit | TwitchContactCommunity Relations OfficerPedro VidalFlokimarketing@floki.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

Throughout most of Q2 2024, the original cryptocurrency traded within a range, exiting the quarter about 10% below Q1 levels. This decline was attributed to miner capitulation driven by post-halving economics, large liquidations by the German government, fears surrounding Mt. Gox repayments, and a hawkish Federal Reserve, the report explains.“Despite these headwinds, U.S. spot BTC ETFs managed to attract around $2.4 billion of net inflows for the quarter, compared to $12 billion in Q1. The average BTC price for the quarter was $65,687, marking a 22.6% quarter-over-quarter increase from $53,579 in Q1. As of Q3, BTC has averaged $61,025, down 7.1% from Q2, primarily due to large liquidations of seized BTC by the German government, which concluded in mid-July.”Following a rough start to Q3, Bitcoin prices rebounded to over $68,000 driven by renewed ETF inflows and positive momentum around pro-crypto presidential candidate Donald Trump’s increasing election odds. In the first three weeks of Q3, U.S. spot ETF inflows have already exceeded total net flows from all of Q2, standing at over $2.5 billion as of July 19. H.C. Wainwright expects Bitcoin to continue range-bound price action in the third quarter before retesting recent highs and printing new all-time highs in Q4.”BTC production plummeted after the halving, as expected,” noted H.C. Wainwright. Total transaction fees awarded to miners increased 16.4% to 6,804 BTC in Q2, accounting for 12% of total block rewards, up from 7% in Q1. Two events, the launch of the Runes protocol and a glitch in OKX’s fee algorithm, caused short-term spikes in transaction fees, contributing to over 2,000 BTC worth of transaction fees for the quarter.Meanwhile, total miner revenues fell 22% quarter-over-quarter to $3.7 billion in Q2, as higher prices and transaction fees were not enough to offset the reduced block subsidy following the halving. Per H.C. Wainwright’s calculations, the combined market cap of public crypto miners was unchanged at $22 billion in Q2 but has since reached all-time highs, with the sector’s market cap exceeding $30 billion for the first time in history.”Last week’s system outage was an important marketing event for Bitcoin, as it demonstrated the importance of having access to a resilient, secure, decentralized, and distributed system,” H.C. Wainwright wrote.  More

Pioneering the Future of Decentralized Cloud with real-world demand, Utilizing SLA Oracles and enterprise-grade hardware from top providers, ICN is building a decentralized multi-service cloud platform.Impossible Cloud Network (ICN), a decentralized cloud ecosystem with roots in Web2, has revealed its roadmap for an open, multi-service platform. Competing with giants like AWS, GCP, and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Azure, ICN connects hardware providers, service providers, and monitoring nodes through the ICN protocol.The protocol is designed to balance supply and demand in a blockchain-based marketplace, ensuring efficient scalability and minimal subsidies. ICN’s architecture includes hardware for scalability, services for composable innovation, and monitoring for trust. ICN aims to support a variety of cloud services, including storage and GPU compute, offering comprehensive solutions for diverse business needs. With Impossible Cloud GmbH as the first service provider, the platform has already proven that it can facilitate revenue generation by delivering reliable services with industry-leading performance.Impossible Cloud has previously secured €17 million in funding from renowned Web3 and Web2 investors including 1kx, HV Capital, Protocol Labs, very early Ventures, LBBW VC and TS Ventures.Newly released Litepaper now availableThe Litepaper of Impossible Cloud Network (ICN) is now released – covering an in-depth overview of ICN’s vision and development plans. The document outlines the technical and strategic milestones guiding the platform’s evolution, including key features, architectural design, and future prospects. A particular focus is on SLA Oracles, which are essential for monitoring and ensuring the performance and reliability of the network for the business customers.Kai Wawrzinek, CEO & Founder of ICN, states:Significant milestones with key partnerships and a growing ecosystemRecently, Impossible Cloud Network (ICN) played a key role in the inception of the DePIN Association alongside other founding members such as peaq, IoTeX and DePIN Hub. This association aims to expand and accelerate DePIN adoption through education, events, and strategic collaborations. ICN has also announced strategic partnerships with leading hardware manufacturers such as Supermicro and pioneering DePIN projects at the forefront of the industry such as Witness Chain. During a keynote address at EthCC, ICN showcased its innovative solutions and strategic vision for the future of decentralized cloud. The event highlighted ICN’s commitment to building a robust ecosystem through these significant partnerships. Christian Kaul, COO & Co-Founder of ICN, stated:For more details on ICN’s ecosystem and strategic plans, the newly released Litepaper here provides an in-depth overview.X – https://x.com/ICN_Protocol Discord – https://discord.gg/icn-protocol Telegram – https://t.me/ICN_ProtocolAbout ICNImpossible Cloud Network (ICN) is a decentralized cloud platform that connects enterprise-grade hardware with cloud service providers while leveraging SLA oracles for uncompromised performance or service quality. ICN already has service providers leveraging the platform with hundreds of business customers and real-world revenue, proving the performance and reliability of the platform.For media inquiries, please contact: media@icn.globalContactWeb3 Marketing ExecutiveSara TeixeiraImpossible Cloud GmbHsteixeira@impossiblecloud.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More

(Reuters) – It may take a little more time for ether to edge out of bitcoin’s shadow. Investors are more cautious and divided ahead of the U.S. launch of exchange-traded funds tied to ether’s spot price on Tuesday, presenting a contrast to the general euphoria that preceded the arrival of ETFs linked to bitcoin. “It will be less of an event than people are making it seem to be,” said Nathan Gauvin, CEO of asset manager Gray Digital and $2 billion hedge fund Blackridge Investment Management.Trading in the ETFs issued by nine asset managers led by BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), VanEck, and Franklin Templeton on U.S. trading platforms comes six months after bitcoin ETFs debuted in January.The consensus forecast is for ether ETFs to attract about 25% of bitcoin’s flows, though Steven McClurg, head of U.S. asset management at CoinShares estimated it at just 10%.A major issue for some investors is the SEC’s exclusion of the “staking” mechanism, a key feature on the Ethereum blockchain which releases ether, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin. Staking allows Ethereum users to earn rewards by locking up their ether to help secure the network. The rewards or yield come in the form of freshly-minted ether tokens and parts of network transaction fees.The annual percentage yield on staking Ethereum was around 3.12% as of July 22, according to StakingRewards.com. Staking is appealing because it enhances returns.As currently constructed, the SEC will only allow the ETFs to hold regular, unstaked ether. “An institutional investor looking at ether knows that there are yields to be had,” said CoinShares’ McClurg. “It’s like a bond manager saying I will buy the bond, but I don’t want the coupon, which is counter to what you’re doing when you’re buying bonds.” The SEC believes staking in exchange for tokens is considered an investment contract, which requires disclosures and safeguards under U.S. securities laws.McClurg believes investors will continue to stake ether outside an ETF and earn a yield as opposed to paying fees and holding it in an ETF. He said CoinShares, which oversees more than $6 billion in assets, is going to wait and see how this all pans out. “We made a conscious decision not to get involved in this round for an ETF that’s not staked.”Gray Digital’s Gauvin thinks staking will eventually be included in the ETF sometime next year. “But this is a midpoint to get there.” The firm is also not participating in this launch, but will watch it closely.’LIKE A STOCK WITH NO DIVIDEND’Chanchal Smadder, ETC Group’s head of product, echoed comments from CoinShares’ McClurg, saying holding the ETF without the staking yield is “like owning a stock and not having the right to the dividend.”ETC, with $1.4 billion in assets, is Germany’s first issuer of crypto exchange-traded products (ETP), which are similar to ETFs. It has both staked and unstaked ether ETPs totaling $150 million. Demand for staked ether ETPs is higher than the unstaked ones, Smadder said, with the staked fund getting $51 million in inflows so far this year, while the unstaked saw outflows of $95 million.Smadder did point out, though, that illiquidity is a risk when staking ether with validators or stakers having to queue to withdraw their staked ether. The processing time to complete the exit queue could sometimes take eight to nine days, he said.”With unstaked, the ether is unlocked and available at all times.”Nana Murugesan, president of Matter Labs, a research and development company that helps scale Ethereum, said the ether ETFs launch was less about staking, but more a “watershed moment” in crypto.The more important thing, Murugesan said, is investors’ access to a blockchain underpinning multiple applications. “As Ethereum and its adoption grow, the ETF’s value also grows with all the network effects.” Overall, investors agree that ether flows are unlikely to come close to those bitcoin ETFs captured in the first week of trading, given ether’s smaller market capitalization of $424 billion, compared with bitcoin’s $1.4 trillion. Bitcoin ETFs drew nearly $7 billion in assets in their first three weeks of trading, Morningstar Direct data showed. As of end-June, the ETFs had attracted a net $33.1 billion in inflows. More

Fourteen years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto explained why Bitcoin had value even though it was trading in cents. This was at a time when Bitcoin was still in its infancy, and its price was trading around a mere $0.07 at that time.Pete Rizzo recently brought this historical statement to light, sharing a screenshot that captured the words of the pseudonymous BTC creator.Satoshi’s statement goes thus: “Bitcoin has value because it is accepted as payment by many. You cou say that Bitcoin is ‘backed up’ by the price tags of merchants and currency exchangers- a price tag is a promise to exchange goods for a specified amount of currency.”Bitcoin hit an all-time high of about $74,000 in March, driven by expectations of strong demand from U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETF).Since Satoshi’s statement, Bitcoin’s use as a payment method has expanded dramatically.In the early days of Bitcoin, perhaps from 2009 until around 2012, merchant adoption was almost nonexistent due to a lack of awareness and infrastructure. The first real-world Bitcoin transaction occurred in 2010, when a BTC holder purchased two pizzas for 10,000 BTC, which is now recognized as Bitcoin Pizza Day.This narrative has grown as merchants continue to adopt cryptocurrencies, indicating a growing preference for digital currency payments as a viable alternative to traditional methods.At the time of writing, BTC was up 1.30% in the last 24 hours to $67,846, per CoinMarketCap data.This article was originally published on U.Today More

Despite the surge above the $68,000 level earlier today, Bitcoin has lost this price peak and has been pushed back down over the past several hours.Over the past four years, the Bitcoin annualized rate of return has comprised 55% with S&P 500 and Nasdaq indices showing only 14%. While gold and silver show 5% and 2%, bonds have demonstrated -2%, according to the diagram.“Bitcoin is the only way to get ahead,” Saylor tweeted as if reminding the community that recently the share price of MicroStrategy has also surpassed many other companies, including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).This article was originally published on U.Today More

According to Coutts, such liquidity injection has always had a corresponding effect on the crypto space. According to records, this pattern traces back to 2016. Each time the PBoC injects capital into the economy, Bitcoin appreciates by a minimum of 100% the next month.Based on this analysis, there is anticipation in the broader crypto community that August is going to be bullish. Some analysts say the bullish pattern will extend to altcoins such as Ethereum, Shiba Inu and XRP, among others.Currently, Bitcoin has rebounded positively after the dip it suffered following sales of BTC by the German authorities, which caused a bearish trend on the market for a while. However, Bitcoin has managed to surge more than 12% within a single week with a massive weekly candle.In an earlier U.Today report, based on the Bollinger Bands, Bitcoin is projected to reach $140,000 and a new all-time-high of $190,000 within a 12-month period.This article was originally published on U.Today More

Zircuit, a fully EVM-compatible ZK rollup with AI-enabled sequencer level security, today announced it raised a Mainnet funding round with participation from Binance Labs, Mirana Ventures, Amber Group, Selini, Robot Ventures, Nomad Capital, Borderless Capital, and prominent angel investors including the founders of Renzo, Etherfi, Pendle, Parallel, LayerZero, Axelar, F2Pool, Nonce, KelpDAO, ETHGlobal, Maelstrom, and more. With this new funding, Zircuit will be able to supercharge ecosystem growth and activity on its network, building upon a strong technical foundation and over $2.9 billion in staked assets. Since 2022, the Zircuit team has built a new L2 network that introduces a revolutionary new approach to onchain security. Zircuit protects dApps and their users from blockchain vulnerabilities through its novel infrastructure that is armored by sequencer-level security and built-in, automated AI techniques to guard against smart contract exploits and malicious actors. The network’s hybrid architecture also results in a fast, low-cost, and fully EVM-compatible ZK rollup, offering unparalleled security for users without compromising speed or compatibility.Bolstered by its strong security infrastructure, Zircuit plans to become a central hub for restaked assets that features unparalleled security and allows users to earn industry-leading yields natively. The landscape of liquid restaking is still nascent and rapidly evolving and new LRT protocols are constantly emerging, making it challenging for even experienced users to track and choose the best and the safest protocols for deploying their capital. Zircuit aims to address this problem by becoming a major liquidity hub for restaked assets (ETH, BTC, LSTs, and LRTs) where users can easily allocate their capital and have peace of mind knowing that funds are deployed to the safest and highest quality protocols.To learn more about Zircuit, users can visit zircuit.com or read the developer docs at docs.zircuit.com To participate in Build to Earn, users can visit: https://build.zircuit.com/ To participate in Zircuit Staking, users can visit: https://stake.zircuit.com/ About Zircuit Zircuit is a ZK rollup with AI-enabled sequencer-level security and parallelized circuits. Built by a team of web3 security veterans and PhDs in computer science, algorithms, and cryptography, Zircuit’s unique architecture combines the best of both worlds of performance and security. To learn more visit zircuit.com or follow us on Twitter/X @ZircuitL2ContactJessicaZircuitjessica@zircuit.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More