Oracle platforms, which provide links between blockchain smart contracts and trusted sources of real-world data, are a crucial component of many decentralized finance — or DeFi — applications. With the meteoric rise of Chainlink (LINK) this year, one might be forgiven for thinking that it has the market all sewn up. But DeFi-focused challenger DIA (Decentralised Information Asset) claims that its community-verified data points can improve on Chainlink’s accuracy. Cointelegraph had an exclusive chat with CEO Michael Weber about why DIA is different, ahead of the platform’s token distribution starting Aug. 3. Crowd-sourced oracle platform Swiss-based DIA was founded in …

Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally above the $10,000–$10,400 zone has attracted several traders who had been waiting for a trending move to start. Yusuke Otsuka, the co-founder of Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck, said that several Japanese traders who had been dormant have started trading again this week. Monex Group CEO Oki Matsumoto also said that many traders who missed buying gold at lower levels are interested in Bitcoin as it has just started its uptrend. Crypto market data daily view. Source: Coin360 However, it should be noted that traders have different goals, and they trade different time frames. After the sharp up …

Chainlink (LINK), one of the best-performing alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) in 2020, saw another statistic reach a record high, namely the number of Twitter followers. According to market data and research firm CryptoCompare, social media followers of the project are continuously surging past new highs. Researchers at CryptoCompare wrote: “LINK has been one of the standout altcoin performers of 2020 and seems to be going from strength to strength. Its social media followers seem to be growing in tandem as it gains popularity.” Social media metric of Chainlink relative to its price. Source: CryptoCompare Social media metric is not a conventional …

Bitcoin (BTC) has covered a considerable amount of ground over the past few years. Initially considered as an asset mostly used for unlawful activities, it has finally received the approval of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. This means banks in the U.S. will now be able to provide crypto custody services to their clients. This move could further encourage institutional investors to enter the crypto space because they are likely to trust their banks more than the other custody services on offer. However, funds are unlikely to start flowing immediately as institutions are known to tread cautiously. …

Recent months have seen a surge of fresh money entering the crypto markets, from oversubscribed token sales to 100%+ price gains for tokens like Cardano (ADA), Chainlink (LINK) and VeChain (VET). But does this herald the beginning of a new bull market, or is it just another bubble waiting to burst? A little bit of both, according to a Twitter thread posted July 24, by Simon Dedic, co-founder of crypto research house, Blockfyre. Big bulls are back The current climate in the crypto landscape is in many ways reminiscent of 2017’s ICO boom. A whole host of new projects are …

CoinMarketCap listed its parent company’s token Binance Coin at the top of its new DeFi list — and then quickly withdrew it following a barrage of criticism. First noticed by podcaster and Twitter user Yannick Eckl (@cryptonator1337), BNB was ranked higher than other well known decentralized finance tokens such as Maker (MKR), Compound (COMP), and Aave (LEND). Apparently @CoinMarketCap has a #DeFi project ranking now. Guess what is on #1? Right, $BNB! What a coincidence. At this point, everybody has to realize how shameless #Binance is acting pic.twitter.com/GMFBcRRLhO — CR1337 (@cryptonator1337) July 23, 2020 The tweet soon went viral. CEO …

Binance Smart Chain — a dual-chain architecture from major crypto exchange Binance — is now integrating Chainlink (LINK) data oracles. Binance Smart Chain adds smart contracts to the exchange's original chain, Binance Chain, and is currently in testnet. Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov told Cointelegraph that in his opinion, this integration will save time and effort for developers who are building decentralized apps on the blockchain: “With the Chainlink integration, Binance Smart Chain developers no longer need to dedicate months of engineering time to set up their own oracle infrastructure. Now, they can simply use Chainlink as an abstraction layer to …

Since March central banks have been printing money aggressively in order to combat the economic downturn brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Philip Lowe, the governor of the Australian Reserve Bank, has warned against the consequences of unlimited monetary expansion. Lowe said that “there is no free lunch,” and somebody always has to pay for the money printing “in one form or the other.” The European Union has also agreed on a massive recovery fund of about $857 billion to buoy the social and economic crisis caused due to the coronavirus pandemic. In response, gold again broke out to a …

BlockShow and San Francisco Blockchain Week have partnered with Gitcoin for a hackathon — with $15,000 in prizes to be won. The event follows the success of the Unitize online conference, which ran from July 6 to 10 and attracted an estimated 10,000 attendees. It is hoped that the Unitize Virtual Hackathon will allow hackers from all over the world to work together to achieve long-term blockchain adoption in a wide range of sectors, including decentralized finance and gaming. Hurdles do remain to achieving widespread adoption, and according to Gitcoin, one of them is consistently providing a unique, compelling digital …

A subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom called T-Systems has become a Chainlink (LINK) node operator. Deutsche Telekom is one of Germany’s leading companies, employing over 200,000 people and has a market capitalization of $80 billion. The fact that one of its subsidiaries is to become a provider of decentralized data feeds that are rewarded in cryptocurrency is significant. T-Systems’ announcement calls this arrangement "generalized mining": “By providing real-world data to the Chainlink network, T-Systems MMS engages in a so-called ‘generalized mining’, where it provides an IT service to a blockchain network while getting paid in digital assets for reliably doing so. …

Cryptocurrency ranking resource CoinMarketCap is facing a backlash after listing Chainlink (LINK) as the biggest DeFi token by market cap. The website’s new DeFi section lists what executives consider to be the most important altcoins in the space, which is seeing considerable interest from traders and investors. DeFi: Next week Binance Coin? Speaking to Cointelegraph, CoinMarketCap Head of Research, Gerald Chee, said that it employs “strict methodology” in order to determine if a particular token qualifies as “DeFi” and is therefore eligible for inclusion in its rankings. Chainlink, a smart contract platform, is however an unlikely addition — following the …

Gold continues to trade near its nine-year highs as investors hedge their portfolio against a possible devaluation of the U.S. dollar due to the expansive monetary policy of the Federal Reserve. Bitcoin (BTC), which has long been forecast as digital gold, is not finding favor among investors as it remains highly correlated with the U.S. equity markets. However, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao believes that over the long-term, the top-ranked asset on CoinMarketCap will again start behaving as a safe haven asset. Daily cryptocurrency market performance. Source: Coin360 One possible reason for investors’ aversion to Bitcoin as a safe haven could …