Major crypto exchange, Bitfinex, continues to drive decentralized finance, or DeFI, adoption by announcing support for a new cross-chain DeFi solution. Bitfinex exchange plans to list pTokens (pBTC) — a new token that aims to unlock cross-chain DeFi liquidity by connecting Bitcoin (BTC) to any blockchain. The token is pegged 1:1 to Bitcoin and is compatible with the Ethereum (ETH) and EOS DeFi ecosystems to date. Bitfinex to streamline liquidity flows between centralized and decentralized exchanges Bitfinex CTO, Paolo Ardoino, told Cointelegraph that the platform expects to add support for pBTC deposits and withdrawals by the end of May 2020. …

On April 12, the number of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange deposits hit the lowest point since August 2016. Recently, there has been a trend towards Bitcoin holders moving their assets away from the exchanges, with some exchanges hit particularly hard. For instance, the amount of Bitcoin held by BitMex and Bitfinex has dropped significantly in the last few weeks. Source: glassnode But while the amount of Bitcoin held on exchanges has decreased overall, it has not reverted as far back in history as the number of BTC transfers to exchanges. Its current level is equivalent to the middle of 2019. This …

Bitfinex’s Bitcoin (BTC) holdings have decreased by 66,000 in the past four weeks. On March 17, the exchange held 200,140 Bitcoin. By April 13 this amount had dwindled by 33%, to just 134,091 Bitcoin. The massive decrease mirrors that experienced by BitMEX, which saw a 38% percent decline in its Bitcoin holdings after the mid-March “flash crash”. Source: TokenAnalyst Bitfinex BTC Balances & Net Flow. There has been an overall trend recently of users moving their digital assets off exchanges, but most saw much more minor decreases. One exchange, Poloniex even managed to increase its Bitcoin holdings during the same …

When someone transferred 161,500 Bitcoin (BTC) on April 10 for a fee of only 0.00010019 BTC — approximately $0.68 — the crypto world took notice. According to blockchain transaction details, the user moved approximately $1.1 billion dollars in the cryptocurrency at the time of press. Of that amount, 15,000 BTC was sent to a wallet, while the remainder — 146,500 BTC — was returned to the original address. Twitter user KRMA_0 was one of the first to spot the transaction, but it didn’t take long for someone to take credit for the move. In a response reaching his 15,000+ followers …

The recent COVID-19 market crash has reduced the risk of a halving price dump and could have set up a Bitcoin bullrun, some cryptocurrency experts believe. Earlier today Chainalysis brought together a group of industry experts for an online panel to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Bitcoin and what it means for the future. Chris Bendikson, Head of Research at CoinShares, said he believed the recent price crash in March had prepared miners early for the halving, which will reduce the sudden impact it could have had on their profitability. Those with outdated equipment had already been forced to …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has become the latest exchange to offer staking services to customers. Announced April 3, Bitfinex will offer staking rewards up to 10% per annum on crypto assets underpinned by a Proof-of-Stake algorithm. "We're committed to engaging our existing users and the wider community with new products and innovations," said Bitfinex’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino. "The Bitfinex Staking Rewards Program provides our users with another avenue to increase their holdings on our platform." Bitfinex introduces staking in response to customer demand Ardoino states that Bitfinex’s clients asked for staking to be introduced, noting that staking allows traders to …

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a “flippening” during its price crash to $3,700 last month — something that could reveal a new uncomfortable truth about exchanges. In its March Exchange Review released this week, monitoring resource CryptoCompare highlighted liquidity as a key metric which changed during last month’s extreme volatility. CryptoCompare: Bitfinex hit 40% of exchange volume On March 12, as Bitcoin prices collapsed in a matter of hours, it was notably one platform in particular which provided more volume, and hence liquidity, for traders. “Despite Binance and OKEx trading the most volume across all markets in broad terms, during the exact …

DeversiFi, the decentralized exchange (DEX) spin-off of former Bitfinex sister exchange Ethfinex, has burned $20 million worth of its governance and utility token, Nectar (NEC). According to a statement, March 30, this is designed to drive DEX adoption after large centralized exchanges struggled to cope during the recent cryptocurrency sell-off. Governance token switches to deflationary model The Nectar token was originally launched with an inflationary model, in which it was awarded to Ethfinex traders, giving them a stake in the future of the exchange. However, with Ethfinex’s pivot towards decentralization and rebirth as DeversiFi, the token has switched to a …

Similar to a bank account for fiat currency, a crypto wallet is a personal interface for a cryptocurrency network that provides reliable storage and enables transactions. Whether a cryptocurrency is securely stored or not, much depends on the wallet, which is only as secure as its private keys. Wallets are generally either hot or cold. The funds in a hot wallet can be spent at any time, online. A cold wallet functions in contrast: not intended for regular cryptocurrency transactions, but funds can be received at any time. Wallets can also be divided into three groups: software, hardware and paper. …

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex deployed its proprietary market surveillance tool to combat market abuse on the platform called “Shimmer.” According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on March 24, Shimmer is meant to identify and investigate possible manipulative behaviours and suspicious trading on Bitfinex. The exchange expects that the integration of the tool with its matching engine will improve market integrity and visibility. Bitfinex’s team will be warned about suspicious trading Now, Bitfinex’s team will be alerted via email when potential improper trading activity is detected on any of the exchange’s trading pairs, including futures and margin-enable trades. The firm hopes …

While March 2020 has been one of the most volatile and unprofitable months for Bitcoin holders, exchanges have benefited greatly from this uncertainty. March 12 selloff spike in volume The main source of revenue for crypto exchanges comes from trading fees, so on the days with heavy volume, they see an increase in their revenues. March 12, the day that Bitcoin lost 37% of its value, there was a significant increase in Bitcoin trading volume, with Bitfinex’s volume exploding almost 1,000%. Source: Cointelegraph, bitcoinity.org, Coinmarketcap Furthermore, there is a clear correlation between the direction of price movement and exchange volumes. …

Major cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex announced the removal of 87 crypto trading pairs due to low liquidity levels as of March 26 at 10:00 GMT. According to the company, the measure seeks to consolidate and improve liquidity, allowing them to move towards a more streamlined and optimized trading experience. Bitfinex provided to Cointelegraph additional details on the removal: “The decision was taken after monitoring [the pairs] for six weeks and finding a consistent low level of liquidity. We take this type of action to concentrate trading in fewer pairs.” List of crypto trading pairs removed The crypto exchange also told Cointelegraph …