Cryptocurrency

The unveiling of the monument is taking place as the Plan B conference dedicated to Bitcoin begins in Lugano and will last for two days. This event boasts major guests from the crypto and financial world as its headline speakers. Among them is the “Satoshi candidate” Nick Szabo, founder of Blockstream (and another “Satoshi candidate”) Adam Back, his former colleague and now the CEO at JAN3 Samson Mow.Julian Assange’s wife Stella and his brother Gabriel Shipton will also be there, along with SkyBridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, and many other prominent figures from the crypto realm.These leaders and influencers are coming together to Lugano to “to discuss Bitcoin adoption, economics, financial freedom, and freedom of speech”, according to the website of the conference.Satoshi created and launched Bitcoin in 2009 after the global financial crisis caused by the collapse of the mortgage loan market in the US a year before. In the white paper he published, was mentioned Adam Back (hence many believe that he is Satoshi) with whom he exchanged a few e-mails before Bitcoin was launched.This article was originally published on U.Today More

He said nothing will move “the needle on Bitcoin’s core Store of Value use case.”This extreme position has triggered a massive reaction from community members. First, BitcoinOS, the developer behind the Grail Bridge that connects Cardano, disagreed with Fred Krueger. The platform said, “Decentralized lending markets are the perfect complement to BTC, which is the most pristine collateral asset known to man.” It also emphasized that it is bridging to other protocols so that it will not consistently fork the main Bitcoin network.Other experts like Dan Held also chipped in to correct Krueger’s disposition. Held reiterated that speculation is the main driver of value for all chains, including BTC. Based on this, he said, “DeFi doesn’t conflict or detract for the SoV thesis.”Using the Babylon protocol, Cardano and Bitcoin are also mulling a staking model that can benefit both communities. While Bitcoin maxis consider this a detraction, core proponents of interoperability like Charles Hoskinson are optimistic that the trend will benefit the broader crypto ecosystem.With the community’s response to Fred Krueger, it appears the landscape is shifting in visible ways.This article was originally published on U.Today More

Thus, Hoskinson emphasizes this project is not simply a bridge — it is a “brain” that aims to propel Bitcoin into the world of DeFi, GameFi and smart contracts, areas previously out of reach for the major cryptocurrency.While many see potential in this integration, others have raised questions about whether it aligns with Bitcoin’s principles of security and decentralization. In return, Hoskinson said that connecting Bitcoin with other ledgers does not affect its own network, as the innovation lets it interact with Cardano’s features without changing the way blockchain works. Only through Cardano, notes the entrepreneur, can Bitcoin operate natively with the UTXO model while even allowing for transaction fees to be paid in BTC. This linkup introduces Bitcoin to a smart contract layer on Cardano, expanding its utility and potential without altering its core network.This new development fits perfectly with Cardano’s vision of mass adoption and innovation, outlined by Hoskinson previously, and at the same time may provide a smooth way to expand Bitcoin’s utility.This article was originally published on U.Today More

The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was also set for weekly losses after it failed to cross a key level this week, amid a dearth of major positive trading cues. Bitcoin rose close to 1% to $68,112.0 by 09:16 ET (13:16 GMT). Bitcoin options worth $4.2 billion are set to expire on Friday- an event that could potentially increase crypto market volatility. The token was set to lose about 1% this week, after it largely failed to cross $70,000, which has become a psychologically important level for markets.$70,000 puts Bitcoin about $4,000 away from making new highs- an event that is expected to mark a bullish point for crypto markets. While increased odds of a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming presidential election had initially boosted crypto prices, this enthusiasm ran out of steam this week, as analysts predicted a tight race against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Speculation over a Trump presidency also boosted the dollar, pressuring crypto markets as traders bet on more inflationary policies in the coming years. Uncertainty over the election kept traders wary of risk-driven assets and largely biased towards safe havens such as the dollar and gold, with the latter hitting a record high this week. The dollar was also supported by increased bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates at a slower pace in the coming months- a scenario that bodes poorly for speculative assets such as crypto.Broader crypto prices retreated on Friday, with major altcoins mostly moving in a flat-to-low range. World no.2 crypto Ether rose marginally to $2,540.68, with the coin expected to see increased volatility with the expiry of $1 billion in options later on Friday. While most altcoins were headed for weekly declines, Solana was an outperformer, as increased blockchain activity- specifically among memetokens linked to artificial intelligence- boosted the token. SOL was set to add around 13% this week, vastly outpacing broader crypto markets.Other altcoins {{|ADA}}, MATIC and XRP all declined on Friday, while among memecoins, DOGE lost 0.8%.  MicroStrategy, the largest public corporate holder of Bitcoin, is seeing a surge in its stock that’s pushing trading volumes higher relative to Nvidia, a leading AI stock by market cap, pointing to growing investor enthusiasm.  This year, MSTR has jumped over 240%, with shares doubling to $236 in just the past five weeks, per TradingView data. This marks its highest price point since the dotcom era nearly 25 years ago. The rally now puts MSTR on the path toward a $50 billion market cap, although still just 1.5% of Nvidia’s $3.44 trillion.MSTR’s trading volume, as a proportion of NVDA’s, has steadily increased this year, peaking at 17.65% in October. On October 11, data from Investing.com showed MicroStrategy’s trading volume at 30 million, against Nvidia’s 170 million. This figure marks a substantial increase since the 2021 bull market, where, on February 9, MSTR hit $130 with a volume of 23.2 million—just 8% of NVDA’s that day.Rising trading volumes amid MSTR’s price rally may be signaling a strengthening uptrend. However, if volumes continue climbing relative to Nvidia, it could indicate growing speculative activity in the market. More

For the blockchain-savvy, this means a major performance boost, with parachain block times dropping from 12 seconds to a near-instant pace. And in blockchain, faster transactions mean less waiting and a more responsive network.In terms of impact, Asynchronous Backing translates better throughput, boosting the network’s capacity from 100,000 to a million transactions per second. This allows Polkadot to handle a lot more traffic without hiccups, which is crucial for supporting larger and more complex dApps. The upgrade also comes with the ability to reuse failed parachain blocks, which cuts down on wasted resources and makes the network more efficient overall. Asynchronous Backing changes how Polkadot handles and validates transactions, letting parachains handle tasks simultaneously rather than sequentially. For developers, it’s like trading a slow-moving line for a well-oiled machine, with transactions validated and backed without delay.For decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming, Polkadot 2.0 promises increases in blockspace production time and transaction volume per block, claiming to deliver eight times the throughput while keeping the network secure.DeFi transactions now fly through the system, making high-frequency trading and yield farming smoother and lowering the chance of price slips. Meanwhile, in blockchain-based gaming, every in-game move—whether buying NFTs or trading items—happens in real time, so players won’t miss a beat.In the business world, Polkadot 2.0’s Elastic Scaling feature is like cloud computing for blockchain, automatically adjusting to demand surges without overusing resources. The Agile Coretime model also brings flexibility to the blockchain, letting businesses pay only for the processing power they need—a cost-effective approach for companies with variable transaction loads.With these upgrades, Polkadot becomes a welcoming playground for developers across DeFi, gaming, and scalable enterprise solutions. Features like #PolkadotAsync encourage the community to actively participate. More

The concept focuses on streamlining access to Polkadot’s ecosystem, introducing several new protocol updates to make building and launching applications on the platform easier than ever.Joe Petrowski, Polkadot Runtime Lead at Parity Technologies, shared a breakdown of these plans, which, although independent, align under the goal of making Polkadot more accessible.Polkadot is known for its sharded, decentralized system, designed to support high-demand projects requiring dedicated throughput. However, starting on the platform has historically been challenging for smaller startups and developers just looking to test the waters. Parachains—basically the Polkadot equivalent of rollups—are a great fit for mature businesses with long-term scalability needs, but the cost and resource requirements have often deterred early-stage projects.That said, Polkadot’s prior model was a hurdle for those in the experimental phase. Parachain auctions, for example, left many founders uncertain if they could even launch due to limited core availability and unpredictable auction outcomes. This setup pushed some projects to competitors, leading to less activity on Polkadot than on other networks.”At an early stage, most projects value a fast time-to-market over scale. Even for later stage projects, many are still experimenting with blockchain tech stacks. With parachain development costs, Polkadot did not offer a compelling entry point,” said Petrowski.Polkadot’s unique structure also created a complex integration process. Developers who wanted to interact with Polkadot had to monitor various parachains, custom events, and cross-chain messages, which wasn’t a straightforward task. The costs, including hefty deposits for using features like proxy accounts and multisig, added further complexity.Despite the challenges, Polkadot has continued to fine-tune its parachain infrastructure, now featuring Agile Coretime to allow projects a more predictable launch path without the need for auctions. Parity’s core team has also rolled out new technologies like Async Backing and Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) Scaling to deliver faster block times and simultaneous core access. Parity is making a bold move by bringing Ethereum compatibility to Polkadot, which makes onboarding easier by allowing developers to use familiar Ethereum tools and standards. This update also simplifies integrations, like Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol (CCTP). With the launch of PolkaVM, Polkadot now offers faster performance and Solidity support, which allows developers to bring over existing Ethereum contracts and build within Polkadot’s ecosystem.Parity is also focusing on protocol consolidation, making it more affordable to set up features like proxy accounts and multisigs. Rather than isolating functionalities across multiple parachains, Polkadot will move to a single point of integration to reduce fees and deposits.Developers and application builders will benefit from more stable APIs, minimizing issues caused by frequent storage format changes and eliminating the need for low-level knowledge of chain architecture. Petrowski also revealed that Parity plans to introduce more accurate metrics, such as transaction speeds, finality times, and reliability across the entire network.  More

In a live-streamed event from Warsaw, $MEN Coin shattered the Guinness World Record for the most handshakes in one gathering. The $MEN Coin team and its supporters joined forces, beating the previous record of 19,471 handshakes, originally set by Marty Cobb. While the final count hasn’t been disclosed, the team achieved an impressive rate of over 20 handshakes per second.During the event, $MEN Coin almost doubled in price, showcasing the growing interest and momentum behind the project as the live action unfolded. This ties the real-world event to the financial impact it had on the coin, underscoring both the community’s support and the rising value of $MEN Coin during the IRL activation.What made this event stand out was the spontaneity of the participants – handshakes were exchanged with everyone they encountered, from grandmothers to McDonald’s cashiers. The spirit behind $MEN Coin’s community is inclusivity, offering a handshake to anyone, no matter who they are or where they come from.During the four-hour live stream, the $MEN team also covered over 30 kilometers as they raced around Warsaw meeting people for handshakes. It was a physical feat that not only broke a record but also demonstrated their tireless commitment to the community.$MEN Coin, with over 11,000 holders, is backed by Solana Mobile, tier-1 KOLs, Bonk Bot, and Kiwi Bot, has gained considerable traction in the crypto space. The project is already listed on CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap, making it accessible to a growing number of crypto enthusiasts.The team behind $MEN Coin has officially submitted the record for verification by Guinness World Records. While the exact number of handshakes is under wraps, the previous record has now been surpassed, with $MEN Coin aiming to make this achievement official.Users can stay connected for updates on the record and upcoming announcements by following $MEN on Twitter and Telegram:This article was originally published on Chainwire More

Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has listed the X Empire Token, $X, on Oct. 24 at 12PM UTC. The exchange is also pleased to announce an industry record for the airdrop of the X token, with Bybit leading the pack among centralized exchanges (CEX): about 1.2 million users participated in the event which concluded within 17 minutes, the largest $X airdrop in scale among CEX.Never missing a beat in top-tier initiatives in blockchain games and other trending projects, Bybit is committed to connecting the vibrant crypto community to opportunities in The Open Network (TON) ecosystem. Leaning on its robust infrastructure and agile technical deployments, Bybit is dedicated to crafting superior user experiences that are both smooth and rewarding.Between now and Nov. 6, 2024, users may register for Bybit X Token Splash which offers three tracks to unlock rewards: “X Empire’s expansion is testament to the community bond and growth potential of the TON ecosystem, and we at Bybit are excited to be part of its journey. It is crucial for us to be able to provide access to promising projects and to craft a user experience that our savvy users expect of us,” said Emily Bao, Web3 Evangelist at Bybit. Bybit is home to the world’s second largest Spot exchange and offers a wide array of pathways to innovative projects through its full suite of products and services. Bringing the most sought-after and promising projects in crypto and Web3 to its community, Bybit is on a mission to create a secure and transparent environment for traders and despositers. Find out more about Spot trading on Bybit, terms and conditions apply.#Bybit / #TheCryptoArkAbout BybitBybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving over 50 million users. Established in 2018, Bybit provides a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions: the Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) Red Bull Racing team.For more details about Bybit, please visit Bybit Press For media inquiries, please contact: media@bybit.comFor more information, please visit: https://www.bybit.comFor updates, please follow: Bybit’s Communities and Social MediaDiscord | Facebook (NASDAQ:META) | Instagram | LinkedIn | Reddit | Telegram | TikTok | X | YoutubeContactHead of PRTony AuBybittony.au@bybit.comThis article was originally published on Chainwire More