From a bearish perspective, there's a fair probability that the crypto market entered a descending channel (or wedge) on Aug. 15 after it failed to break above the $1.2 trillion total market capitalization resistance. Even if the pattern isn't yet clearly distinguishable, the last couple of weeks have not been positive. For example, the $940 billion total market cap seen on Aug. 29 was the lowest in 43 days. The worsening conditions have been accompanied by a steep correction in traditional markets, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index has declined by 12% since Aug. 15 and even WTI oil prices …

Hong Kong tech giant Meitu made headlines in April last year after it reported nearly $100 million in crypto holdings. However, with the advent of the bear market, the tech firm has lost nearly half of the valuation of its crypto holdings. According to a local media report, Meitu reported an impairment loss of over 300 million yuan, approximately $43.4 million, on their crypto holdings. An impairment loss is a loss in value of an asset when it falls below the carrying value of the investment. The financial filing revealed that the impairment loss has more than doubled from the …

The Beijing municipal government on Aug. 23 announced a two-year (2022-2024) metaverse innovation and development plan that would require all districts to adhere to the newly released Web3 innovation plan. The development action plan refers to the Metaverse as a new generation of information technology integration and innovation that would drive the growth of the internet towards Web3. The innovation plan focuses on promoting the development of metaverse-related industries and helping Beijing build a benchmark city for the digital economy. The action plan demands that various districts build technological infrastructure at a city level and promote its use in various …

Malaysia continues accelerating its pace of cryptocurrency adoption as one of the major local banks is moving into cryptocurrency trading as part of its default banking offerings. Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad, one of the largest private investment banks with more than 500,000 customers, has partnered with China’s tech giant Ant Group to launch a crypto-friendly wallet and trading app. According to an announcement on Wednesday, Kenanga has signed a memorandum of understanding with Ant to jointly develop Malaysia’s wealth application called categorized as a super app. Under the terms of the agreement, Ant’s digital technology unit will provide Kenanga with …

According to multiple sources, on Tuesday, China officially began rolling out the next round of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot test program. In the city of Guanzhou, it is now possible to pay for public bus rides with the digital yuan (e-CNY) CBDC on 10 transit routes, the first ever in the country. To do so, passengers simply need to download the e-CNY app, deposit funds, and scan the QR code located in the bus payment section to pay for their ride. Similarly, the day before, the city of Ningbo said that passengers could now pay for subway …

After the rising wedge formation was broken on Aug. 17, the total crypto market capitalization quickly dropped to $1 trillion and the bulls' dream of recouping the $1.2 trillion support, last seen on June 10, became even more distant. The worsening conditions are not exclusive to crypto markets. The price of WTI oil ceded 3.6% on Aug. 22, down 28% from the $122 peak seen on June 8. The United States treasuries 5-year yield, which bottomed on Aug. 1 at 2.61%, reverted the trend and is now trading at 3.16%. These are all signs that investors are feeling less confident …

2022 has been an exceptionally rough year for the crypto market, and the last few months of Bitcoin’s (BTC) price action could be a sign that bears aren’t even close to being ready to let up. Crumbling crypto prices also equate to diminishing profits for Bitcoin miners and this week’s regulatory action by the United States lawmakers requesting energy consumption data from four major BTC mining companies is bound to exert a bit more pressure on an already fragile situation. Despite the increasingly bearish climate, most of the Bitcoin miners Cointelegraph has spoken to are incredibly optimistic about Bitcoin’s short …

According to local news outlet 36kr.com, Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent recently received a novel patent for a blockchain-based missing persons poster. The patent took nearly three years to be awarded from the date of its first submission in December 2019. The paten consists of a data generation request upon user submission that a person has gone missing. The proposal is then unveiled publicly on the blockchain for verification. Once a consensus has been reached regarding the request, it is then stored in the public ledger and forwarded to nodes for broadcasting to a wider audience. Tencent said in the patent …

Major Chinese cryptocurrency miner manufacturer Canaan appears to have no issues with the local ban on crypto, as the company’s overall performance has continued to grow in 2022. Canaan officially announced financial results for the second quarter of 2022 on Thursday, reporting a 117% increase in gross profit from the same period of 2021. According to the firm, the Q2 profits amounted to 930 million renminbi (RMB), or nearly $139 million. The company’s Q2 net income was 608 million RMB, or $91 million, or a 149% increase from 425 million RMB in the same period last year. Canaan noted that …

According to local news outlet Sohu.com, on Tuesday, the state-owned Bank of China has announced a new program to bridge primary school education with smart contracts. In a combined partnership with local education and financial authorities, parents residing in the city of Chengdu, located in China's Sichuan province, will be able to enroll their children in after-school or extracurricular lessons using the digital yuan central bank digital currency, or e-CNY. Under the pilot test, parents start by paying a deposit to a private educational entity for a series of lessons. Afterward, a smart contract binds each lesson on a pro-rata …

An ascending triangle formation has driven the total crypto market capitalization toward the $1.2 trillion level. The issue with this 7-week-long setup is the diminishing volatility, which could last until late August. From there, the pattern can break either way, but Tether and futures markets data show bulls lacking enough conviction to catalyze an upside break. Investors cautiously await further macroeconomic data on the state of the economy as the United States Federal Reserve (FED) raises interest rates and places its asset purchase program on hold. On Aug. 12, the United Kingdom posted a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of …

There’s a ferment brewing with regard to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and most people really don’t know what to expect. Varied effects seem to be bubbling up in different parts of the world. Consider: China’s e-CNY has already been used by 200 million-plus of its citizens and a full rollout could happen as early as February — but will a digital yuan gain traction internationally? Europe’s central bank has been exploring a digital euro for several years, and the European Union could introduce a digital euro bill in 2023. But, will it come with limitations, such as a ceiling …