Authorities said they had reached a non-prosecution agreement with Celsius, but former CEO Alex Mashinsky will face criminal charges related to fraud and misleading users.

CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently opined that the case would end soon, but the fight for crypto wasnt over yet.

Alex Mashinsky (CoinDesk)

Bitcoin and crypto markets seem ready to put in a major move, commentary concludes, as BTC price action coils up below $31,000.

(Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

Bitcoin daily chart. (CoinDesk Indices)

Circle, the company behind the USDC stablecoin, has recently laid off a portion of its workforce amid a turbulent year for the digital asset industry. According to the company, the recent layoffs aimed to maintain a strong balance sheet. And by streamlining its workforce and reducing costs, the company may be better positioned to weather the challenging market conditions.

Circle has characterized the recent layoffs as a marginal reduction in headcount, which is part of a broader effort to reduce operational expenses and discontinue investments in non-core activities.

According to the Reuters report, a Circle spokesperson said that:

Circle is redoubling its focus on core business activities and execution. It has identified new areas for investment and is continuing to hire in key areas of focus on a global basis.

Circle Had Expressed Plans To Expand The Workforce Earlier

The recent news of Circles workforce reduction comes as a surprise, given that the companys finance chief, Jeremy Fox-Green, had announced earlier this year that the USD Coin issuer had other plans.

Fox-Geen mentioned that Circle had plans to increase this headcount by 15% to 25% by the end of the year, which would have added to its 900-employee workforce. Despite the recent workforce reduction, Circle has indicated that it is still actively recruiting for key areas of focus.

Related Reading: Celsius Takes Legal Action Against StakeHound For Withholding $150 Million

Fox-Green said that the company is growing and investing and we are fortunate to be in a financial position to be able to sustain our investments.

Circles decision to expand its workforce by up to 25% this year represented a slower growth rate compared to 2022 when the company had doubled its headcount from the previous year.

In other news, Circle had recently announced its new chief legal officer, Heath Tarbert, who previously served as the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission(CFTC).

According to Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire, the company aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and Web3, and Tarberts experience and legal expertise will be instrumental in advancing the utility value of the USDC stablecoin worldwide.

On the...

U.S. Treasury Department seal (Bill Perry/Shutterstock, modified by CoinDesk using PhotoMosh)

Discover the transformative potential of ChatGPT in daily life and explore its various applications that are unlocking new possibilities.

Coinbase says a student loan case could sway its SEC suit. (Victoria Pickering/Flickr)

The regulator said Celsius squandered billions in user deposits after duping customers into depositing funds.

On-chain data shows the Bitcoin Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) is at a critical level currently. Will a bullish breakout take place?

Bitcoin MVRV Ratio Is Retesting The 1.5 Level Right Now

As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, the BTC MVRV ratio has been around a critical level recently. The MVRV ratio is an indicator that measures the ratio between the market cap of Bitcoin and its realized cap.

The realized cap here refers to a capitalization model for the asset that assumes that the true value of each coin in the circulating supply is not the current spot price, but the price at which the coin was last transferred on the blockchain.

This model aims to find a sort of real value for the coin, so its comparison with the market cap in the MVRV ratio can tell us how the current spot price (that is, the market cap) weighs up against this fair value.

When the indicator has a value greater than one, it means that the market cap is more than the realized cap right now. In this situation, the investors are holding more value than they put in, so they become more likely to sell and harvest these profits. Thus, this kind of trend can suggest the asset is becoming overpriced and a correction may be on the horizon.

On the other hand, low values imply the market cap of the cryptocurrency may be undervalued at the moment as the average investor is holding their coins at a loss.

Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin MVRV ratio over the last few years:

As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin MVRV ratio had been below the one mark back during most of the second half of 2022. This isnt an unusual trend, as bearish periods normally see investors going into deep losses, which naturally results in the indicators value plunging.

Whats interesting, though, is the metrics interaction with the line where its value becomes 1. While bearish trends last, the level usually provides resistance to the asset. Examples of this happening during the past years bear market can be seen in the chart.

With the...

Pietro Poretti, the city of Luganos director of the economic development division, said that their goal is to allow people to live in the city using only Bitcoin.

(Shutterstock)

USB keystroke injection devices like the Diabolic Drive still pose a threat to unsuspecting users by installing malware to take over systems.

Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Homecoming Weekend )

SingularityNET (AGIX) 7-day price chart (Messari)

ZKM is developing a hybrid rollup that combines Optmistic and Zero-Knowledge approaches. (Bru-nO/Pixabay)

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan Federal Court after his arraignment and bail hearings on December 22, 2022 in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

(Shutterstock)

Last week, a separate U.S. regulator, the CFTC reportedly found that Celsius and Alex Mashinsky broke several regulations before the collapse in 2022.

The U.S. SEC filed a lawsuit against the bankrupt crypto lender on July 13 followed by news reports about the arrest of the former CEO Alex Mashinsky.

The cryptocurrency exchange claims its total proof-of-reserves ratio has reached 223% in its latest July report.

Following the bearish wave which has swept across the crypto market today, the KAVA token has experienced a significant fall in its market price.

According to data from CoinMarketCap, KAVA is currently down by 10.90%, representing the biggest loss of the day. In general, the total crypto market cap is down by 0.31%, with the market leader, Bitcoin (BTC), losing by 0.46% in the last 24 hours.

This is while prominent tokens, such as Ripple (XRP), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Solana (SOL), have managed to stay afloat, recording no significant gain or loss.

KAVA Price Action And Analysis

KAVA began the week with sideways movement hovering around that $0.94 price region. However, after a slight price dip which saw the token retest at $0.91 on July 10, it embarked on a bullish run reaching as high as $1.02 the next day.

Related Reading: PEPE Price Drops More Than 60% From ATH What Lies Ahead?

Following a consolidation at this zone for some hours, the token experienced a significant price boost yesterday,  hitting a top price of $1.06. Albeit, since attaining this price level, KAVA has been on a downward trend returning to the price levels seen at the start of the week. 

Analyzing its 4-Hour chart, KAVA is currently in a strong consolidation zone, but if the bulls assume control of the market, the token could rise to the $1.06 price region, which has previously served as a strong resistance level.

A sustained bullish momentum that results in the altcoin pushing past this level could lead to a market price in the region of  $1.22. That said, if the current selling pressure remains strong, KAVA could drop from its consolidation zone, falling as low as $0.73.

Based on CoinMarketCap data, KAVA is currently trading at $0.94, with a 0.16% gain in the last hour. Meanwhile, the tokens daily volume is down by 16.64% and now stands at $48 million. KAVA ranks as the 70th biggest cryptocurrency with a market cap value of $588 million. 

KAVA Records Some Positive Moves Despite Price Movement 

Contrary to its negative price movement today, Kava has actually recorded some positive news in the last few days. Just yesterday,  its blockchain network launched the Kava 14 mainnet upgrade, which in part likely caused the price hike seen yesterday.

As expected, this late...

This is an opinion editorial by Bitcoms, a Bitcoin writer.

So quick bright things come to confusion 

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Inscriptions are a way of writing pieces of arbitrary information onto the Bitcoin blockchain. Ordinals are a convention used for tracking individual sats and linking them to inscriptions. This article does not attempt to argue for or against Bitcoin Ordinal inscriptions. Rather, it argues against the confusing, inaccurate and sometimes dubious ways they can be presented, marketed and sold.

It deals with a widespread fallacy which insinuates that ownership of Ordinal inscriptions is enforced and protected by the rules of the Bitcoin protocol itself (I maintain that it is not). And while this fallacy may be asserted duplicitously or innocently, it is always pernicious because it can make Ordinal inscriptions more attractive to prospective buyers.

Here is a typical example:

Ordinals allow a variety of data, including text, images, and video to be inscribed on a single Satoshi (the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin) and permanently stored on the Bitcoin blockchain. 

Introduction documentation for Ordinals Market

This suggests that ownership of an inscription will be protected by the permanence and immutability of the Bitcoin timechain itself. But Bitcoin does not enforce ownership of inscriptions, because an inscription is not inscribed on a single satoshi on the blockchain at all.

As the Ordinal Theory Handbook, the guide to Ordinal theory compiled by its developers, points out:

Satoshis live in outputs while inscription content is included in transaction witnesses.

While both output data and witness data are stored on the Bitcoin blockchain following the SegWit upgrade, claiming that inscription data is inextricably linked to an "inscribed" satoshi creates a misleading notion that any such link is recognized by Bitcoin itself.

In reality, the link between an inscription and a specific satoshi is manufactured off chain by a purpose-built external indexer. This pulls data from the Bit...

(Shutterstock)

BTC's choppy price action. (CoinDesk/HIghCharts.com)

Discover how a reduction in supply affects the price of Bitcoin, and how market participants perceive and react to halving events in the dynamic cryptocurrency market.

(Shutterstock)

Jacob Asset Management got approval from the Guernsey financial regulator in October 2021 and was set to debut on Euronext Amsterdam Exchange in July 2022.

Bitcoin has the chance to set off on a parabolic curve as the U.S. Dollar Index threatens to dive below 100, a popular trader says.

Top ranking digital assets in the ESG ranking (CCData)

In a jaw-dropping discovery that has sent shockwaves through the Shiba Inu community, a dormant whale has emerged from hibernation. This anonymous early investor, who holds a staggering 10.15% of the total SHIB supply, has recently made significant moves, causing speculation within the community.

The whale, identified by his address 0x140, has been dormant for a staggering 157 days, but has now reawakened with a series of unprecedented transactions. In a span of just 24 hours, the whale distributed a whopping 4 trillion SHIB tokens, equivalent to a staggering $30 million, across nine new wallets.

Detailed data from Etherscan confirms the veracity of the whales recent movement. The whale distributed precisely 4,000,000,000,107 SHIB tokens across nine new wallets within a 24-hour period. The transfers began with a small amount of 107 SHIB to a specific address, followed by subsequent transfers of 500,000,000,000 SHIB each to eight separate addresses.

Shiba Inu Whale Provides A Shock

This unexpected flurry of activity has captured the attention of analysts and on-chain experts. Lookonchain, a prominent crypto analytics expert, noted that this whale is likely the largest holder of SHIB, with a current holding of 101.47 trillion SHIB tokens, worth an astonishing $756 million. Furthermore, this early investor has a total of 23 wallets where the SHIB holdings are distributed.

This colossal whales involvement in the SHIB ecosystem dates back to its early days. Spot On Chain, an on-chain analyst, revealed that the whale initially acquired a staggering 103.33T SHIB with a mere 38 ETH ($14,000) during its inception. Riding the wave of SHIBs meteoric rise, this investment once reached a staggering valuation of $8.16 billion....

Wallet, a custodial wallet bot on Telegram, says that merchants should sort out for themselves whether their jurisdictions allow them to accept payments in crypto.

Sources close to Meta have reportedly said the company plans to available and customizable.

The price of PEPE coin has experienced a significant decline, plummeting over 60% since reaching its peak on May 5. This substantial downturn has dealt a heavy blow to optimistic investors who were aiming to capitalize on their impressive triple-digit profits from June. 

The latest insights from on-chain data suggest massive whale movement. In light of these developments, a pressing question arises:

What lies ahead for the PEPE price, and what can be expected in the future?

Trader Accumulates PEPE: A Long-Term Investment?

Amidst the crypto communitys ongoing speculation, Lookonchain recently unveiled a noteworthy transaction involving trader osf_rekt.

It appeared as though osf_rekt was making a conscious effort to maintain ownership of the assets as the user traded 141 Ethereum (ETH) for a staggering 173 billion units of the popular meme coin, PEPE.

We noticed that @osf_rekt spent 141 $ETH ($265K) to buy 173B $PEPE again 16 hrs ago and transferred 690B $PEPE($1.05M) to a safe multisig wallet.

He spent a total of 536 $ETH ($1.04M) to buy 613B $PEPE from June 14 to July 11, with an average buying price of $0.00000169. pic.twitter.com/jDzdf0JVvu

Lookonchain (@lookonchain) July 12, 2023

What makes this transaction even more intriguing is that it was not the first instance of osf_rekt acquiring PEPE. This pattern of behavior by the trader using a pseudonym implies, in most cases, that they have a fundamental view that the cryptocurrency has positive prospects.

Considering the widespread buzz surrounding PEPE, this accumulation of tokens by osf_rekt does not come as a surprise. However, it is worth noting that PEPE has experienced a recent decline in value.

Over the past seven days alone, its value has depreciated by 14.7%, with a 24-hour slump of 2.8%, ultimately placing its current price at $0.00000150, as reported by CoinGecko.

...

(Polygon Labs)

Metaverse (We Are/Getty Images)

The proposal for MATICs technical upgrade is subject to approval from the Polygon community. Once approved, MATICs upgrade to a multipurpose token will result in its renaming to POL.

The goal behind an overpriced buyout of the Swiss company was to get a proper European license.

Ethereum scaling remains the primary use case behind zero-knowledge proofs, according to a report from ZKValidator.

Mike Novogratz, founder of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., recently gave his views about Bitcoins future and the anticipated approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, providing a glimpse into what might be in store for the world of crypto.

Novogratzs insights, shared during an interview on Bloomberg TV, come at a crucial time when the crypto market is in flux, sandwiched between mounting regulatory concerns and a growing interest from mainstream investors. 

BTC On An Upward Trajectory

Mike Novogratz paints a promising future for Bitcoin in the coming months. According to his predictions, the digital currency is set to witness a price surge by the end of the year. His focus is currently on Bitcoins consolidation between the price brackets of $28,000 and $32,000.

An interesting element of Novogratzs prediction is the anticipated impact of the Federal Reserves monetary policy. He foresees a likely upward swing in Bitcoins value following the conclusion of the Federal Reserves interest-rate hikes.

The prevalent market conditions, according to Novogratz, have been influenced by supply pressure. So he suggests that significant profits realized by some investors are largely responsible for this situation.

This viewpoint aligns with common investment market dynamics, where notable financial gains often result in an increase in selling pressure. Novogratz points out that this trend is playing out in the current Bitcoin market.

Anticipating Bitcoin ETF Approval

Mike Novogratzs forecast for the future of Bitcoin doesnt stop at predicting its market value. He also envisions the potential approval of Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) within the United States. This breakthrough could fundamentally alter the crypto investment landscape.

If this approval becomes a reality, it would pave the way for industry heavyweights such as BlackRock Inc. and Invesco. These investment titans could introduce...

DICT Director Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin said theres been a rise in innovative blockchain startups in the Philippines, signaling that the country could be a global leader in blockchain.

The group sent a detailed letter to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee accusing the crypto market of seeking favorable legislation under the guise of crypto innovation.

Within the last 24 hours, Bitcoin and the entire crypto market are experiencing a slight downturn, leaving investors wondering about the reasons behind this dip. Bitcoin briefly rose to $31,009 before falling to 30,254 within a few hours. Ether (ETH) rose to over $1,900, only to drop back to $1,868.

CPI Data And The Anticipation Of A Rate Hike

One crucial piece of the puzzle lies in the recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. Yesterdays CPI data for June was a positive surprise as the headline CPI year-over-year (YoY) fell to 3.0%, coming in below expectations of 3.1%. Even more encouraging was core CPI YoY which dropped to 4.8%, surpassing market expectations of 5.0%.

However, this didnt significantly alter the markets view on the upcoming rate hike decision by the Federal Reserve at the end of the month. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the market still expects a 25 bps hike by the Fed at the next meeting on July 25-26 with a 93% probability. Renowned macro analyst Ted (@tedtalksmacro) is in the minority that believes there wont be another rate hike. Ted shared the chart below and wrote:

3m annualized core CPI now running at October 2021 levels. The trend is the Feds friend. Hard to see another hike this month.

Other analysts, however, believe that the core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) is more important for the Fed. In the most recent release of FOMC minutes, PCE is mentioned ten times compared vs. three mentions of CPI. The Feds favored inflation gauge for June will not be released until 28 July.

US Government Selling Bitcoin

However, it is important to note that following the positive inflation data, traditional markets were setting new highs. The S&P500 rose by 0.74% yesterday and recorded its highest level since April 2022. Meanwhile, Bitcoin still couldt sustainably break $31,000 in its 6th attempt.

The reason was likely the news that the US government is moving 9,800 BTC linked to the infamous Silk Road marketplace. The news broke shortly after the release of the CPI and drastically dampened sentiment. In the past, news that the US government is moving and possibly selling some of its Bitcoin always triggered severe price drops. Yesterdays drop can still be considered moderate and an indicator of market strength.

So f...

Staking rewards. (Micheile/Unsplash)

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has made significant strides in the digital asset market, currently holding a market capitalization of over $4.4 billion. This remarkable achievement has propelled SHIB to claim the 18th position among the largest cryptocurrencies.

Over the course of the past month, SHIB has witnessed a substantial increase in market capitalization. From June 13 up until today, there has been a surge of approximately half a billion dollars, elevating the market cap from a modest $3.9 billion to its current impressive level.

Such a substantial rise in market capitalization prompts speculation regarding the potential impact on the price of SHIB. As the SHIB market cap continues to grow, it can create a sense of optimism among investors, potentially leading to increased demand and upward price pressure for the token.

Potential Impact On Shiba Inu Price

Market capitalization plays a significant role in determining the value and potential growth of a cryptocurrency like Shiba Inu. When a crypto coins market capitalization improves, it can have several implications for its price. Lets explore the potential impact of an improved market capitalization on the price of SHIB.

As the market capitalization of SHIB grows, it indicates a rising level of investor confidence in the cryptocurrency. A higher market capitalization often attracts more investors who believe in the projects potential. This increased demand can exert upward pressure on the price of SHIB, driving it higher.

An improved market capitalization generally leads to increased liquidity for a cryptocurrency. Liquidity refers to the ease of buying and selling a particular asset. When there is higher liquidity, it becomes easier for investors to trade SHIB without significantly impacting its price.

This increased liquidity can create a more stable trading environment and potentially contribute to a more sustainable pr...

(Unsplash)

The high stakes of crypto applications mean developers often need to prioritize security but that comes at the cost of poor user experience.

Ethereum price failed again to clear the $1,900 resistance against the US Dollar. ETH is declining and might revisit the $1,825 support zone.

• Ethereum topped near the $1,900 resistance and declined.
• The price is trading below $1,880 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average.
• There was a break below a key bullish trend line with support near $1,875 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
• The pair could extend its decline toward $1,845 or even $1,825.

Ethereum Price Restarts Decline

Ethereums price made another to clear the key resistance at $1,900. However, ETH failed to gain pace above the $1,900 resistance and reacted to the downside, similar to Bitcoin.

A high was formed near $1,901 and the price declined below $1,880. There was a break below a key bullish trend line with support near $1,875 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD. The pair traded below the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $1,862 swing low to the $1,901 high.

Ether is now trading below $1,870 and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. It seems like the bears are in control and they might aim for a move below the $1,862 low.

Source: ETHUSD on TradingView.com

On the upside, immediate resistance is near the $1,880 level and the 100-hourly Simple Moving Average. The first major resistance is near the $1,890 zone. The main resistance is still near $1,900. A close above the $1,900 resistance could start a decent increase. The next major resistance is near the $1,955 level. Any more gains could send Ether toward the $2,000 resistance.

More Losses in ETH?

If Ethereum fails to clear the $1,880 resistance, it could continue to move down. Initial support on the downside is near the $1,860 level or the last...

0.00010 BTC = 3.09 USD
1.00 USD = 0.00003 BTC
Converter

Hive made the rebrand to reflect its evolving focus on revenue opportunities in AI, cloud computing and GPUs.

BNB Beacon Chain mainnet is set to undergo the ZhangHeng hard fork around July 19, which will bring new upgrades aimed at improving security.

NFT collectibles company Dapper Labs has said goodbye to another 51 employees only months after a 20% staff reduction in February.

Bitcoin price failed to gain bullish momentum after the US CPI release. BTC is trading below $30,500 and there is a risk of a drop toward $29,850.

• Bitcoin failed to clear the $30,850 resistance and reacted to the downside.
• The price is trading below $30,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.
• There was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support near $30,620 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
• The pair could continue to move down if it fails to stay above the $30,200 support.

Bitcoin Price Faces Another Rejection

Bitcoin price attempted a fresh increase above the $30,500 resistance zone. BTC climbed above the $30,750 level but the bears were active near the $30,850 resistance zone.

A high was formed near $30,850 and the price reacted to the downside. There was a break below a connecting bullish trend line with support near $30,620 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. The pair even declined below the $30,500 support.

A low is formed near $30,230 and the price is now consolidating losses. Bitcoin is now trading below $30,500 and the 100 hourly Simple moving average.

It is stuck near the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $30,850 swing high to the $30,230 low. Immediate resistance is near the $30,400 level and the 100 hourly Simple moving average. The next resistance is near the $30,550 zone.

Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com

The 50% Fib retracement level of the recent decline from the $30,850 swing high to the $30,230 low is also near $30,550, above which the price could gain bullish momentum. In the stated case, BTC might rise toward the $30,850 resistance. The next major resistance is near the $31,000 level. Any more gains could...

The Galaxy Digital founder believes approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would essentially be a United States regulator and government nod for Bitcoin.

Money Cash Currency Bills (Pixabay)

The noose is tightening for wealthy Americans suspected of exploiting Puerto Ricos relaxed tax regime.

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

As the first hearing since the SEC's June 6, the conference is expected to be procedural and administrative, though it may also give a sense of the litigation's tone.

U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act will establish guardrails to prevent another FTX-style event from occurring in the wake of the 2022 market crash and bankruptcies.

The government previously promised to liquidate approximately 40,000 remaining BTC from the seizure in four more batches over the remainder of the calendar year.

Lightning HTTP 402 Protocol, also known as L402, is a way to charge for services and authenticate users in distributed networks. It combines two powerful tools Macaroons, and of course, the Lightning Network.

Macaroons are special tokens used for authentication. They include permissions and can be verified using a root key. The documentation states this is important for systems where we want to avoid or cannot go about looking up the validity of each token.

Lightning is a Layer 2 solution for making fast and secure bitcoin payments. L402 leverages the capabilities of Macaroons and Lightning to create a mechanism that allows users to authenticate and make payments without needing a central database.

In L402, a Macaroon includes a payment hash. To be valid, the user needs to present the Macaroon and the preimage corresponding to the payment hash in the Macaroon. The preimage is obtained by paying a Lightning Network invoice.

A newly introduced software called Aperture acts as a middleman between the user and the service's API. It forwards requests with valid L402 to the relevant API endpoint and can issue new Macaroons and Lightning invoices to new users.

L402 allows for metered APIs, where services can charge for their usage without requiring logins or passwords. The Macaroon, together with the preimage, guarantees that the payer has made the payment.

The L402 specification includes different characteristics such payment hash that links the Macaroon to the Lightning invoice. The Macaroon can also include caveats that define access to specific services, service capabilities and service constraints.

When verifying the L402, the server uses the root key to check that the Macaroon was issued by the appropriate authority and that each caveat was properly amended. The preimage is also verified against the payment hash to ensure that all outstanding invoices have been paid.

In summary, L402 is a protocol that combines Macaroons and the Lightning Network to enable charging for services and authenticating users. It allows for secure payments and authentication without relying on a central database. Aperture is a software that helps handle the process and allows services to issue Macaroons and Lightning Network invoices.

(Guillaume Prigois/Unsplash)

The Blockchain Association, a nonprofit organization advocating for pro-innovation policies in relation to Bitcoin, has called for an investigation into the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its approval of Prometheum Ember Capital as a Special Purpose Broker Dealer (SPBD). In a letter to the Inspector General of the SEC, the association raises concerns about potential impropriety and ethical issues surrounding the approval process.

The letter highlights the lack of regulatory clarity regarding how U.S. securities laws apply to digital assets and criticizes SEC Chair Gary Gensler, accusing the SEC of overt hostility towards the digital assets industry while citing enforcement actions and proposed rulemaking that have impacted the sector. The approval of Prometheum as an SPBD is seen as concerning, as other companies with what the letter describes as "legitimate business models" have faced denials or delays in obtaining similar licenses.

The letter states Prometheum's license approval comes at a time when the company has no working product or assets, raising further questions. The association questions whether Prometheum received preferential treatment or leveraged personal connections to gain an unfair advantage. They express concern that SEC Chair Gensler is using Prometheum and the SPBD licensure process to impede congressional efforts towards legislation and promote what it views as a false narrative, that the law is clear regarding digital asset securities. There's no question Prometheum is hiding something on its SEC relationship, said Dan Spuller, head of industry affairs at the Association.

The Blockchain Association has submitted a request to the SEC under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking documents and communications related to the matter. They urge the opening of an investigation to address these concerns and provide clarity. The outcome of the investigation will determine whether there was any impropriety or validate the inferences made by the association.

(JESHOOTS.COM/Unspalsh)

Circle is laying off some workers (Sandali Handagama/ CoinDesk)

Zoo-F-O characters (Cryptoys)

FTT, the native token of the controversial FTX ecosystem, has been pumping lately. This recent price upswing was triggered by the launch of a customer claims portal, an online platform for customers to access their account information and submit electronic proof of claims in FTXs restructuring proceedings. 

Although the portal became unavailable barely an hour after launch, the price of FTT has managed to stay afloat, with a 21% increase in the last day.

FTX Claims Portal Goes Offline For Unknown Reasons

Last month, the debtors in FTXs insolvency case announced that an online claims portal was in the final stages of launch. The portal reportedly went live on Tuesday, July 11, enabling customers of the bankrupt crypto exchange to access their account information.

Related Reading: Shiba Inu Ecosystem Token BONE Surges 88%, Too Late To Buy?

The platform before going offline said users can access their account balance as of November 11, 2022 the day FTX filed for bankruptcy in the United States. Then, if required, customers would also be able to submit an electronic proof of claim with the FTX Debtors claims and noticing agent (Kroll Restructuring Administration).

However, the claims portal only stayed live for about an hour before going down for unknown reasons. As of this writing, there has been no official statement from FTX addressing the crash.

That said, it is worth noting that customers still have until September 29, 2023, to file a claim. This can be done via alternative means besides the website, like through US mail.

FTT Rallies 21% In A Single Day Price Overview

After the FTX claims portal went live yesterday, the FTX token (FTT) received a lot of attention from crypto enthusiasts. And the tokens price showed a positive reaction, gaining more than 24% roughly an hour after the launch. 

However, this price surge was short-lived, as the FTT token soon shed a considerable chunk of its early gain. This is understood to be in response to the claims portal going offline.

It is worth noting that FTT has been on a positive run in recent weeks. According to CoinGecko data, the tokens value has increased by nearly 117% in the past month.

That said, it appears that...

In recent weeks BTC miners sent a record amount of Bitcoin to exchanges right as the networks difficulty metric hit a new all-time high.

Avail founder Anurag Arjun. (Avail)

The group raised concerns over Prometheum's changing position on crypto regulatory clarity and under what circumstances the firm obtained a special purpose broker-dealer license.

Google Play (Victoria_Regen/Pixabay)

(Chris Chow/Unsplash)

U.S. government moves bitcoin (Blockchain.com)

Conflux (CFX) has recently recorded a significant price rise following a few days of bearish movements. According to data from CoinMarketCap, CFX has gained by 11.39% in the last 24 hours, emerging as the days top gainer. So whats driving this price gain?

Bank of China Announces SIM Card NFC Payments, Sparks Excitement In The Conflux Community. 

On July 10, The Bank of China announced it would be commencing the testing of SIM card-linked payments using the digital renminbi known as digital yuan starting from July 11- yesterday.

According to its statement, the state-owned bank claims to be conducting this program in collaboration with telecommunications giants China Telecom and China Unicom.

Related Reading: Conflux (CFX) Sheds 16% Despite $18 Million Investment From DWF Labs

The project aims to enable payments using a near-field communication protocol (NFC) and a technology known as super SIM cards.  Basically, users will be able to process digital yuan payments by bringing their mobile phones in contact with designated payment terminals. 

That said, following the emergence of this news in mainstream social media today, there has been a wave of excitement in the CFX community, with some hinting that the latest move by the Bank of China could boost the adoption of CFX in the future. 

For context, the Conflux Network signed a partnership with China Telecom to develop a Blockchain-powered SIM card (BSIM) back in May 2023. Given this, it appears that some CFX fans believe the Conflux Network will play a significant role in the new SIM Card e-CNY payment system. 

The excitement in the CFX community translated into positive price movement, with CFX surging by 11% this morning to hit a peak price of $0.2031. Prior to this price increase, CFX had seen its market price fall from $0.197 to as low as $0.175 over the last seven days. 

At the time of writing, CFX is currently trading at $0.201 with a 0.20% loss in the last hour. However, the tokens trading volume has risen 135.79% and is valued at $75.4 million. With a market cap of $617.6 million, Conflux is ranked as the 67th biggest cryptocurrency on the market.

CFX Price Analysis And Prediction 

Analyzing the CFXs 4-Hour chart, the token appears to be headed for a resistanc...

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