Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), gaming protocols and the dawn of the Metaverse were all trending topics in 2021 and they are shaping up to be even bigger in 2022. NFTs and Metaverse-related projects are also bouncing back quickly from the market-wide downturn and Vulcan Forged (PYR) is one of the top movers this week. The project is a blockchain game studio and NFT marketplace that is in the process of developing out its VulcanVerse ecosystem. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $6.59 on Jan. 24, the price of PYR has rallied 119% to …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) and the control it gives users over their assets is one of the most applicable sectors of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, but the general public is still hesitant to interact with most DeFi products due to the steep learning curve and the possibility of losing funds. One decentralized exchange (DEX) that is taking strides toward bridging the gap between DeFi and centralized finance (CeFi) is QuickSwap (QUICK), the top ranked DEX on the Polygon network. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of QUICK saw a rapid 50% spike in value from $166.40 on …

“The Market Report” with Cointelegraph is live right now! In this week’s show, Cointelegraph's resident experts discuss which play-to-earn games have the potential to dethrone Axie Infinity. But first, market expert Marcel Pechman carefully examines the BTC and ETH markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Marcel is here to break it down. Next up, join Cointelegraph analysts Benton Yaun, Jordan Finneseth and Sam Bourgi as they debate which play-to-earn games are best (other than Axie Infinity). Will Sam’s pick of DeFi Kingdoms beat the rest with it’s nostalgic …

Bitcoin (BTC) is retaking market share from altcoins after its market cap dominance hit its highest since November 2021 last week. Data from CoinMarketCap and TradingView reveals BTC briefly accounted for over 42% of the overall crypto market cap in late January. Bitcoin claws back market cap presence Having suffered on the way down from its all-time price highs in November, the latest moves have allowed Bitcoin to reclaim some of its lost ground against altcoins. Previously, attention was focused on major tokens such as Ether (ETH), Solana (SOL) and others as they capitalized on Bitcoin’s weakness. With the tables …

Meta, formerly branded as Facebook, has officially announced the closure of its digital currency project Diem after years of major efforts to move forward with the initiative. Announcing the news on Monday, Diem CEO Stuart Levey confirmed that Meta is selling intellectual property and other assets related to the Diem stablecoin project to its Silvergate Capital Corporation. The Diem Association and its subsidiaries will start winding down operations “over the coming weeks,” Levey said. The association, however, is still confident that Diem’s ideals will continue to thrive even after Meta officially terminated its involvement in the project, the CEO noted: …

Yield Guild Games (YGG) has raised $1.45 million to support people affected by December 16's Typhoon Odette in the Philippines, with nearly $1 million already dispersed to people in need. The funding was used to purchase essential goods like medicines, power generators, and canned food, which were turned over to the Philippine Army and Navy and non-profits to distribute among affected communities. There is still about $458,000 worth of crypto and tokens that have been donated to the relief fund but they have yet to be converted to fiat currency for deployment, according to a representative from YGG. Our Transparency …

Cryptocurrencies had a volatile week after Bitcoin's (BTC) sudden crash to $33,000 on Jan. 24. However, the sharp 9% drop fully recovered within 8 hours after BTC price regained the $36,000 support. On Jan. 26, Bitcoin rallied to $38,960 but it could not sustain the level and corrected by 8.8% in the following 8 hours. When factoring in the recent ups and downs, Bitcoin managed to only gain a meager 1.6% over the past seven days. Even with the considerable price swings, the aggregate futures contracts liquidations were relatively low. Longs (buyers) had $570 million futures terminated, while shorts (sellers) …

The past couple of months have not been kind to cryptocurrencies. The sector's aggregate market capitalization plunged 50% from a Nov. 10 peak at $2.87 trillion to the current $1.44 trillion. Solana's (SOL) downfall has been even more brutal, presently trading at $88 after a 66% correction since its $260 all-time-high. Pinning the underperformance exclusively to the recent network outages seems too simplistic, and it doesn't explain why the accelerated decoupling over the past week, so let's take a look at what might be going on. The Solana network suffered four incidents in the span of a few months. According …

Bitcoin (BTC) started the 2022 on a losing note, dropping about 20% to its worst performance in January since 2018 when the price plunged 26.61%, according to on-chain analytics resource Coinglass. Now, all eyes turn to February, which has historically favored the bulls. The only two negative closes in February were in 2020 and 2014. One positive sign during the recent price decline has been that the long-term hodlers have not panicked. Glassnode data shows that the number of coins that last moved between five and seven years ago surged to a new all-time high. El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele …

After two years of development, Litecoin (LTC) has finally launched its highly anticipated Mimblewimble upgrade, opening the door to more privacy-oriented transactions on the network. Mimblewimble’s integration into Litecoin came by way of the Mimblewimble Extension Block, also known as MWEB, which allows the network’s users to opt-in to confidential transactions. MWEB lead developer David Burkett, who has been sponsored by the Litecoin Foundation, said the upgrade improves Litecoin’s viability as a fungible currency that can be used for everyday transactions, pay employee salaries and even purchase real estate. Mimblewimble is a privacy-focused decentralized protocol that derives its name from …

Solana (SOL) looks poised to paint its first “death cross” this week, raising fears that its ongoing selloff would continue further into February. Real selloff threat Notably, the SOL price's 50-day exponential moving average (50-day EMA; the red wave) will eventually close below its 200-day EMA (the blue wave), signaling a bearish crossover, called death cross, that typically prompts traders to sell. The threat surfaces as SOL looks to close January at nearly a 50% loss — as of the month's final day, the Solana token was down by over 2.50% to nearly $91, compared to almost $180 at the …

The United Nations Children's Fund has called for incorporating child safeguards into online child protection initiatives, citing financial and exploitative threats posed by unregulated crypto markets. UNICEF’s “Prospects for children in 2022” report, which examines the impact of global trends on children, anticipates further mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies — “demonstrating both the promise of greater financial inclusion and the need for new child safeguards.” The report shows that digital currencies have gained widespread interest in 87 countries by the end of 2021, with the majority of jurisdictions experimenting on their own versions of a central bank digital currency. UNICEF expects …