Bitcoin (BTC) and most major altcoins appear to have started a relief rally. Glassnode data suggests that Bitcoin addresses with a non-zero balance have risen to about 40 million, indicating increasing adoption by retail traders. Edelman Financial Engines founder Ric Edelman said that the number of Americans owning Bitcoin could rise from 24% currently to one-third by 2022. He expects this to happen as “Bitcoin is becoming more and more mainstream. People are hearing about it everywhere — it isn’t going away.” The investors buying Bitcoin seem to be in it for the long haul, if the outflows from major …

The cryptocurrency community is back in high spirits on Jan. 12 after a majority of tokens in the top 200 flashed green following Bitcoin's (BTC) spike to $44,000. The return of bullish momentum has come as a boon to several altcoin projects, with multiple tokens seeing gains in excess of 20%. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were Anyswap (ANY), Keep3rV1 (KP3R) and WEMIX (WEMIX). Anyswap expands its list of supported networks Gains in the altcoin market were led by Anyswap, a decentralized exchange that specializes in allowing users to …

On Wednesday, Komodo, a multichain architecture network, announced the introduction of 12 protocols on its non-custodial multi-coin software wallet and atomic swap-powered decentralized exchange AtomicDEX. The 12 protocols consist of Avalanche, Polygon, Harmony, Fantom, smartBCH, Ethereum Classic, Moonriver, KuCoin Community Chain, Huobi ECO Chain, Ubiq, Arbitrum and Optimism, with the latter two being wallet-only. After the upgrade, users will be able to swap Avalanche tokens to Polygon, Ethereum to Binance Smart Chain (BSC), etc., and vice versa. Unlike cross-chain functionality, multi-chain enables users to access their crypto without the use of wrapped or proxy tokens, with potentially better security results. …

Hong Kong’s central bank, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), wants to supervise stablecoin issuance and reserves management. HKMA published a discussion paper on Jan. 12 regarding cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, in which it provided its views on how the industry should be regulated in Hong Kong. In the 34-page long consultation document, the HKMA paid special attention to “payment-related stablecoins,” pointing out that the market capitalization of all stablecoins hit $150 billion in December, accounting for 5% of the entire crypto market. The regulator added that all existing stablecoins are “mostly asset-linked and predominantly pegged” to the United States dollar, …

As crypto prices recover after a slump last week, Pascal Gauthier, CEO of crypto wallet firm Ledger, addressed questions relating to the state of the crypto market. In an interview taken by CNBC at the Crypto Finance Conference in St Moritz, Switzerland, Gauthier said the situation panning out with Bitcoin (BTC) comes as no surprise. The retail trend is prominent and it’s “always the same.” He explained: “The number of addresses with the minimum number of BTC is actually growing compared to the number of whales. There is a profound retail trend everywhere in the world; they trust Bitcoin more …

Bitcoin (BTC) surged almost $1,000 in minutes during Jan. 12 as encouraging signs emerged from exchanges. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $43,468 Wednesday, its highest since Jan. 6. The pair had been due to continue volatile moves, traders said, with more and more favoring a push higher rather than a renewed downside. This would likely come in the form of a "short squeeze" against latecomer shorters, they argued, and Wednesday's sudden wick higher appeared to support the theory. Funding rates across derivatives platforms stayed either neutral or negative during the volatility, further hinting that the …

The metaverse is more than a movie concept. It combines all digital experiences a user might encounter, replicating many of the actions one would take in the real world, including the purchase of property, homes and clothing, and the customization of one's own space and avatars. However, unlike a virtual ecosystem in a game, the metaverse considers financial data management and other transactions that can keep an entire economy running and simulate what a user would encounter in the real world. Without it, users are likely to miss out on the completely immersive experience the metaverse can offer. Recognizing this …

Bitcoin price made a quick pop above $43,100 in the U.S. trading session but uncertainty is still the dominant sentiment among traders on Jan. 11 and bulls and bears are split on whether this week's drop to $39,650 was BTC's bottom. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of Bitcoin (BTC) has traded tightly around the $42,000 level as the global financial markets digested U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's statements on the upcoming fiscal policy changes. Powell indicated that the central bank is prepared to “raise interest rates more over time” if inflation continues to …

On Monday, Polygon (MATIC), a layer two Ethereum (ETH) scaling solution known for its fast transaction times and negligible gas fees, announced the launch of Plonky2, a zero-knowledge scaling technology claimed to be the fastest in the world. Zero-knowledge algorithms ensure everything is correctly computed on layer two and return the succinct proof to Ethereum without sending the entire data. Instead of every miner, or staker, verifying every posted transaction, zero-knowledge allows the verification of simplified rolled-up proofs, thereby significantly speeding up the overall network. 1/2 We are proud to announce Plonky2, the world's fastest ZK scaling tech! Plonky2 is …

Ether (ETH) has been an emotional rollercoaster over the past three months primarily because its price rallied twice. First it peaked at $4,870 on Nov. 10 and at $4,780 on Dec. 1. However, the double top was quickly followed by a harsh rejection which led to $490 million in long futures contract liquidations in 48 hours. Once again, hope was instilled on Dec. 8 after Ether commenced to rally 28.5% in 4 days to retest the $4,400 support. Soon after, the downtrend continued, leading to the $2,900 bottom on Jan. 10, which was the lowest ETH price seen in 102 …

Bitcoin (BTC) fell slightly into the Wall Street open on Jan. 11 after the largest cryptocurrency failed to crack resistance above $42,000, but fresh comments from U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell appear to be providing a boost to markets. Bitcoin squares off at support According to Powell, the U.S. is likely to remain in a low interest environment for some time, a comment which stocks and risk on assets like cryptocurrencies seem to appreciate. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD returning to the middle of a narrow range in which it has now spent four days. …

It seems as though the potential benefits of cryptocurrency are often overshadowed by the technology’s inherent vulnerability to exploitation. And it’s true, crypto adoption does come with risks. Over the past year, governments from around the world have raised concerns that crypto could be used to finance terrorism or other illicit activity like money laundering. There have been prohibitive measures everywhere from China to Nigeria, with many crypto exchanges forced into a legislative chokehold. While crypto has its challenges, it has also become a tool for policymakers and activists wanting to make the world a better place. The climate crisis …