Author: Andrei Ionescu

Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, is set to participate in an upcoming cryptocurrency settlement pilot program launching this fall, marking a major milestone in the bank’s digital transformation efforts. The bank also plans to offer digital ruble services to clients by 2025. Deputy Chairman Anatoly Popov revealed these developments in an exclusive interview with Reuters during the Eastern Economic Forum. He emphasized Sberbank’s commitment to aligning with Russia’s evolving regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and the importance of legitimizing digital currencies for international payments and mining operations. “There is a steady demand for payments using cryptocurrencies in the global economy,” Popov…

India has emerged as the largest source of content creators for The Sandbox, a leading metaverse platform, according to co-founder Sebastien Borget. The number of Indian creators on the platform has doubled to 66,000, surpassing the United States, which has 59,989 creators, and Brazil with 25,335. The significant growth follows The Sandbox’s strategic focus on India, announced in December. The platform now aims to reach one million users in the country within the next two years. “India became the No. 1 overall across all countries … thanks to all the different boot camps and education programs that we’ve run on…

Web3 accelerator Outlier Ventures has declared that the widely believed four-year cycle in Bitcoin’s price action is dead, following what it describes as the cryptocurrency’s worst performance after a halving event to date. “Four months after the latest Bitcoin halving, we’re witnessing the worst price performance following any halving to date,” said Jasper De Maere, Head of Research at Outlier Ventures, in a report released Tuesday. Bitcoin halving events, which occur roughly every four years and cut miners’ block rewards by 50%, have traditionally been seen as catalysts for significant price increases. However, this year’s halving, which took place on…

Bitcoin (BTC) mining profitability has plummeted to unprecedented lows, according to a research report by JPMorgan released on Tuesday. The report, authored by analysts Reginald Smith and Charles Pearce, reveals that Bitcoin miners earned an average of $43,600 per exahash per second (EH/s) in daily block rewards throughout August the lowest rate ever recorded. This figure marks a stark contrast to the peak profitability in November 2021, when miners earned $342,000 per EH/s, with Bitcoin trading at around $60,000 and the network hashrate at 161 EH/s. The dramatic decline in profitability is attributed to a combination of falling Bitcoin prices…

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded significant net outflows on Tuesday, continuing a streak of negative flows in the cryptocurrency market. According to data from SosoValue, 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net outflows totaling $287.78 million, marking the largest single-day outflows since May 1. Among the ETFs, BlackRock’s IBIT, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by net assets, reported no inflows or outflows for the day. Grayscale’s GBTC, the second-largest spot Bitcoin ETF, saw $50.39 million in outflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC ETF suffered the largest hit, with $162.26 million in net outflows. Other ETFs also felt the impact of the…

Upbit, one of the leading global digital asset exchanges, has announced the addition of UXLINK (UXLINK) to its trading platform. UXLINK will be available for trading in KRW, BTC, and USDT markets. To celebrate the launch, Upbit will offer free withdrawal fees for UXLINK for the first 24 hours following the commencement of deposits and withdrawals. After this period, standard fees will apply. Upbit reminds users to carefully verify the network before making deposits, as only transactions on the UXLINK-Arbitrum One network will be supported. Transactions made through other networks will not be processed. Trading Restrictions and Guidelines Upbit has…

Bank of Japan (BOJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda has indicated that the central bank may continue raising interest rates if economic conditions and inflation trends meet expectations. Ueda’s remarks, made in a document submitted to a government panel led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday, come as the BOJ navigates its first interest rate hike in decades, which took place in late July. The move has already triggered significant market reactions, including the unwinding of yen carry trades and a subsequent impact on risk assets such as cryptocurrencies. According to Ueda, Japan’s economic environment remains accommodative, with inflation-adjusted interest rates…

Traders on Polymarket, a leading prediction market platform, are overwhelmingly betting that the Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates by 25 basis points during its upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for September 17-18, 2024. The prediction market has seen a significant trading volume of $10.9 million, with 77% of traders forecasting a 25 basis point cut in the federal funds rate. In contrast, 21% of participants anticipate a more substantial 50 basis point reduction, while only 3% believe the Fed will maintain current rates. This expectation is driven by several economic factors, including declining inflation and a…

Trading volumes on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges saw continued growth in August, building on the momentum from July after a multi-month low in June. Global spot market volumes across major exchanges, including Binance and Coinbase, reached $1.2 trillion in August, marking a 6.6% increase from July’s $1.12 trillion. Binance maintained its dominance in the market, capturing the largest share with a trading volume of $448.45 billion in August. Surge in U.S.-Based Crypto Exchange Volumes The upward trend was particularly strong among U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchanges. Monthly trading volumes across exchanges serving North American customers rose to $166.84 billion in August, a significant…

Global cryptocurrency investment products faced significant outflows last week, totaling $305 million, according to the latest report from CoinShares. This marks a sharp reversal from the previous week, which saw net inflows of $543 million. The outflows were observed across major asset managers, including Ark Invest, Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares, and 21Shares. James Butterfill, CoinShares’ Head of Research, attributed the outflows to “widespread negative sentiment evident across various providers and regions.” This sentiment was primarily driven by stronger-than-expected economic data in the U.S., which reduced the likelihood of a significant interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve. “We continue…