In the past year, we’ve seen the crypto economy undergo exponential expansion as heaps of money poured into various cryptocurrencies, decentralized finance (DeFi), nonfungible tokens (NFT), crypto indices, insurance products and decentralized options markets. The total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi sector across all chains has grown from $18 billion at the beginning of 2021 to $240 billion in January 2022. With so much liquidity in the ecosystem, the crypto lending space has also grown a significant amount, from $60 million at the beginning of 2021 to over $400 million by January 2022. Despite the exponential growth and the …

A young couple from India used nonfungible tokens (NFTs) to digitize their love for each other till eternity over the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The recently married couple from Pune, India, Shruti Nair and Anil Narasipuram decided to take their court marriage to the next level by hosting a blockchain wedding. According to Anil, the husband: “I read some articles on how people in other countries were doing blockchain marriages and it motivated me.” Other prominent crypto entrepreneurs to follow the trend include Rebecca Kacherginsky, Coinbase’s staff product designer. Most people get married in a place of religious worship, on a …

The cryptocurrency market has an interesting way of catching even the most seasoned veterans off guard as each bull and bear market initially shows similarities to previous cycles only to veer off in an unexpected direction and wipe out the fortunes of newly minted crypto millionaires. This was the case with the weak close of 2021 which completely went against the bullish $100,000 BTC price estimates that crypto analysts and influencers were peddling nonstop. Currently, Bitcoin price is more than 50% away from its $69,000 all-time high and altcoins have fared worse, with many down more than 60% in the …

The influence of blockchain technology on the ongoing digital revolution cannot be overstated as the rise of the Metaverse and the integration of virtual reality is transforming the way humans interact on a global scale. One project that is beginning to gain traction in its effort to bridge the old world with the new is Decentraland (MANA), a virtual reality (VR) ecosystem built on the Ethereum network that allows users to create, engage with and monetize digital content through a variety of interactive experiences. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that over the past two weeks, the price …

Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) are attempting to build upon their recent recovery as the U.S. equity markets try to resume their relief rally, backed by strong results by Amazon. Bollinger Bands creator John Bollinger recently tweeted that Ether looked to be in a good spot to be added to his existing long positions. The Purpose Bitcoin exchange-traded fund also witnessed its third-largest inflow on Feb. 1, according to Glassnode data. This suggests that traders may have started accumulating Bitcoin at lower levels. Even though crypto markets are reeling under a bear phase, investor interest remains strong. Popular social media …

Li Jiang, COO at Harmony, believes that a bridge connecting all existing blockchains is key to onboard the first 1 billion users on Web 3. “We think that the future is multichain and cross-chain, that you should be able to move assets very easily from one chain to another, with good prices, with good rates and very fast.”, he told Cointelegraph in an exclusive interview. Harmony is a Layer-1 blockchain protocol that aims at creating bridges with all major blockchains and becoming a “unifying Web 3 platform” by 2026. Jiang acknowledges that blockchain technology is not mature enough to onboard …

Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $40,000 for the first time two weeks during Feb. 4 as Wall Street volatility proved a boon for BTC bulls. Liquidations mount for BTC shorts Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD suddenly jumping past the $40,000 Friday, just two hours after the Wall Street open produced rapid gains. At the time of writing, the pair was up $3,000 in two hours — an unexpectedly strong performance, which naturally caused short sellers significant pain. According to on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass, BTC liquidations were $50 million over the most recent four-hour period, with cross-crypto liquidations …

An uptick in trading volume is one of the key components of a digital asset’s healthy market outlook. It indicates both robust liquidity and a surge in fellow traders’ enthusiasm for the token. The relationship between the asset’s price and trading volume is a nuanced one: Volume spikes often trail strong rallies as more and more traders hop on the bandwagon in the hopes of a ride to the moon. Yet, in some cases, it is surging trading volume that leads to price appreciation. In such a scenario, getting alerted to anomalous trading activity around a token can help crypto …

Japanese trading house Mitsui is reportedly planning to issue a cryptocurrency pegged to gold, local news agency Nikkei Asia reported Friday. Called ZipangCoin (ZPG), Mitsui’s new digital currency will reportedly be issued as early as February and will be available to retail investors through cryptocurrency exchanges. The stablecoin will be linked to gold prices at yen-denominated prices by Mitsui from the London Metal Exchange, with one ZPG valued equivalent to one gram of gold and guaranteed by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking. According to the report, the new gold stablecoin will be initially offered through Mitsui’s proprietary crypto exchange and later made …

Bitcoin (BTC) recovered much of its recent losses on Feb. 4 but concerns remained that a retest of $30,000 was incoming. $38,600 remains focal pivot Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD returning to $38,000 Friday, up over 2% in 24 hours. The pair saw a strong comeback overnight after suffering at the hands of U.S. stock sellers for two days straight. A similar turnaround for tech stocks later on Thursday, with Amazon gaining 15%, set the stage for Bitcoin to rise in step, with BTC proponents nonetheless criticizing the over volatility of some equities. The rebound meanwhile …

Manchester United, one of the world’s most popular soccer (or football) teams is reportedly set to announce a multi-year training kit sponsorship by Proof-of-Stake blockchain platform, Tezos. First reported by The Athletic, the deal is apparently in excess of $27 million per year, allowing Tezos to place its logo on the team's training uniform. Manchester United have reportedly finalized filming promotional material ahead of the official announcement. The report also speculates that the partnership may involve collaboration in the technology space, such as a Metaverse or other Web3 project. Tezos has made heavy investment into sports sponsorships. In May 2021, …

Australia's consumer and competition (ACCC) watchdog is investigating Facebook’s parent company Meta for a long running series of fraudulent cryptocurrency advertisements of the platform. The news comes just a day after Cointelegraph reported that billionaire businessman Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest was pursuing criminal action against the social media giant for allegedly serving users crypto scam ads and fake articles which used his name and likeness. Numerous other high profile celebrities from Hugh Jackman to Nicole Kidman have been fraudulently employed to draw users into investment scams. The ACCC alleges that Meta allowed the crypto scammers to breach Australian consumer law, defrauding …