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Bitcoin [BTC] may be destined for bull run despite Chinese crackdown

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China’s central bank, People’s Bank of China [PBOC] has vowed to penalize Bitcoin and crypto-related businesses. Continuing its tough stance, the bank declared all activities such as trade offering, order matching, issuance of tokens and derivatives as illegal.

The latest move by the Chinese authorities reflects a similar event that transpired four years back. Bitcoin proponent, Lark Davis shared the same view. In his tweet, Davis drew parallel to the previous event of China banning ICOs and the present crackdown on Bitcoin and crypto-related activities and speculated that a bull run could be just around the corner. Exactly four years ago, China prohibited the sale of ICOs during its height of popularity leading to a slump in Bitcoin’s price from $4,892 to $3,194 in a span of a week. However, the downtrend was brief as Bitcoin skyrocketed near $20k, over a 526% surge in three months.

If history repeats, Bitcoin could witness a massive rally.

BTC ALL graph coinmarketcap

The above announcement sent a flurry of reactions across several quarters, especially in the social networking platforms. US Senator, Patt Toomey took to Twitter last evening to express his thought on the recent development. In his tweet, the republican member slammed the country’s stance as ‘Authoritarian’ and calls for the US to seize the opportunity in terms of attracting resources and other structural advantages. In a series of tweets, he expressed regret as to how China’s economic intolerance has led down its people who value liberty and a high standard of living.

According to a translated version of the Q/A posted on the PBOC website, the central bank categorically stated that foreign cryptocurrency exchanges operating in mainland China would be banned and their usage of the internet to provide services to its denizens would also come under illegal financial activity.

The central bank stated,

“Overseas virtual currency exchanges that use the internet to offer services to domestic residents is also considered illegal financial activity.”

Furthermore, the domestic employees working for those overseas financial exchanges and other related institutions would be subjected to investigation. The Chinese authorities cited the reason behind the strict measures is to effectively monitor the rise of illegal and criminal activities associated with it and eradicate investments based on risk and speculations.

Will Bitcoin [BTC] repeat the history?

Earlier this year, China initiated a crackdown on Bitcoin [BTC] and crypto mining operations. The shutdown was reflective of China’s goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2026 as crypto mining consumes more energy. However, the development sent both hash rate and price of Bitcoin on a downward spiral, triggering FUD in the market. Following the news, the cryptocurrency fell below $30k. Months later, the hash rate and price have recovered to a large extent.

Many experts believed that the recent announcement is harsh but its effects on the market will be short-lived.

Bitcoin.org hacked; Pop-up displays BTC giveaway scam

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Bitcoin.org, the prominent informational site dedicated to educating and facilitating the understanding of the Bitcoin [BTC] ecosystem, has been compromised again. The site shows a pop-up shows a message inviting the visitors to send money to a BTC wallet claiming that the funds will be doubled and sent back.

The message further read that the “Bitcoin Foundation” is giving back to the community and that the offer is limited to the first 10K users. It also includes a QR code and an address below.

E 8K3ToVEAAfqaG

Additionally, only the homepage of Bitcoin.org appears to have been functional, while the other pages, including FAQs, show a 4040 error.

The website’s pseudonymous owner, “Cøbra,” confirmed the news and said that the site might be down for a few days. His tweet read,

“Bitcoin.org has been compromised. Currently looking into how the hackers put up the scam modal on the site. May be down for a few days.”

This isn’t an isolated event. Giveaway scams are rampant on the micro-blogging site Twitter as well as Youtube, and several victims have fallen lost significant funds after sending their tokens in hopes of getting more in return. In fact, both Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak have sued YouTube over the fraudulent content. However, not much has changed.

Bitcoin.org fiasco

Bitcoin.org is an open-source project and is home to Bitcoin Core, the most popular software version of BTC’s code. It supports the development of the world’s largest cryptocurrency and also serves as a directory to make tools more accessible that are needed to start transacting in BTC.

The website, which is the oldest education resource site registered in 2008, also aims to promote new users to adopt cryptocurrency and start transacting from any corner of the globe without worrying about traditional rules. However, of late, the site has been at the receiving end of several controversies.

Earlier in June, the self-proclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto and BSV advocate Craig Wright won a legal battle claiming copyright infringement on the part of the website for featuring the BTC whitepaper after the pseudonymous owner chose not to mount a defense.

Just days after the UK courts ordered Bitcoin.org to stop hosting the whitepaper over copyright infringement, the site faced a massive ransomware attack, where the hackers wanted a ransom of 0.5 BTC. Last year, the site was hit by another Distributed Denial of Service [DDoS] attack when the entire crypto market was just getting started on the bull run. It remained inaccessible for a couple of hours.

Tom Brady ready to accept partial salary in Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Solana

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Tom Brady, the quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, wanted to jump on the crypto bandwagon by expressing interest in accepting partial payment in an array of digital assets.

The crypto-verse has welcomed an array of people into its market. From celebrities to the average Joe, every individual across the globe wanted to explore the crypto industry. Several personalities from the sports sector have time and again expressed their interest in crypto. Various basketball teams and other sports personalities have already started accepting crypto as salary. Tom Brady, is the latest to join this list.

Appearing in a recent episode of the podcast, SiriusXM, Brady revealed his interest in crypto. He noted that he would “love to request” to garner his salary in crypto, particularly in Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], or even Solana [SOL].

Tom Brady expresses interest in crypto

Brady took to Twitter and announced his appearance in the podcast. The tweet read,

The world has recognized the impact of crypto across the globe. With the value and demand for these assets surging numerous individuals were keen on exploring the digital side of the monetary world. The interest and rate of adoption of crypto have never been this high.

Noting his interest in crypto, Tom Brady stated,

“I think it’s an amazing thing that’s happening in the world with the way the world is becoming more digital. And these digital currencies, along with a lot of, if you look how the way the world is going, with all these different digital mediums and how they’re impacting currencies.”

Brady isn’t new to the crypto-verse. The seven-time winner of the Super Bowl, Brady had previously shown interest in digital assets. His wife, Gisele Bündchen even has an equity stake in the crypto exchange, FTX.

His latest move could be influenced by this as he noted that “Sam and the revolutionary FTX team continue to open my eyes to the endless possibilities.”

Litecoin activity stands higher than Cardano, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin

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The number of active addresses on the Litecoin [LTC] network has surpassed that of Bitcoin Cash [BCH] and Dogecoin [DOGE]. According to Jay Milla, the director of the Litecoin Foundation tweet, the growth of wallet activity on the Litecoin network has risen to 450k, outpacing other large-cap cryptocurrencies. And after LTC, Cardano’s [ADA] active address count stood at 214k, followed by Bitcoin Cash [BCH] with 101k and Dogecoin [DOGE] with just 60.89k.

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Dogecoin [DOGE] and Cardano [ADA] have seen a surge in transaction volume in recent times. Elon Musk fueled the DOGE rally in the first few months of 2021, exacerbating it to reach an all-time high of $0.73. However, as the hype faded, so did the price and network activity.

On the other hand, Cardano’s Alonzo update significantly boosted its price in August this year but its address count remained low.

So what does this imply? The active address is a metric measured in terms of an increase in the network activity on-chain. Analysts can utilize these data to predict the behavior of the crypto asset in the market and the possible price changes.

Litecoin has seen a spike in such active wallets adoption due to its high speed and cost-effective transaction. Recently a new upgrade was introduced called, ‘OmniLite’, a protocol designed to implement smart contracts, non-fungible tokens [NFTs], and other decentralized assets. Another interesting feature is the crucial implementation of privacy transactions on an experimental basis via the MimbleWimble [MW] protocol.

Litecoin’s Rising hash rate

LTC hash rate has been on the rise since July this year. At 325 TH/s, LTC hash rate climbed to a three-month high.

hash rate

Looking at the bigger picture, the Litecoin hash rate had surged to an ATH of 523.8 TH/s days before the second halving. Right after the event, the hash rate figure fell below 140 TH/s, a decline of over 73% in just 6 months. Since then, it has kept low. The crypto’s hash rate came close to 400 TH/s during the 2021 rally. Shortly after which, it fell significantly again.

Are Bitcoin [BTC] Miners gearing up for a big bull run?

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The battle for $50k continues as Bitcoin [BTC] takes a breather from making any significant moves. For miners, on the other hand, it has been an interesting year. From Bitcoin’s abrupt sell-off to the Chinese exodus, BTC miners have been on the receiving end of significant changes this year.

According to the latest stats, miners are not just HODling but have finally managed to strengthen their position in the market despite a series of market damaging corrections, rallies, and consolidations. As a result, the profits have increased for the first time since the migration of Chinese miners to different parts of the world. The blockchain intelligence firm, Glassnode stated that Bitcoin miner balances are increasing once again.

Additionally, Miner Unspent Supply, in other words, the balance held in miner wallets, has increased by 13K BTC since January. Besides, the small spend of 1,360 BTC in late August has had no significant effect on the overall trend. This comes at a time when all the crypto exchanges have reduced their BTC reserves to the lowest point since September 2018.

Its tweet regarding the same read,

“Bitcoin miners have been in accumulation mode over the last 6 months, with the unspent supply climbing by 13,000 $BTC since January. After a small spend of ~1,360 $BTC in late August, it appears miner balances are increasing once again.”

miner

Bitcoin [BTC] hash rate aims for pre-June levels

The rising hash rate is a further testament to the increasing optimism among the Bitcoin miners and fortifying their footing in the market. After hitting an ATH of almost 200 exa hash/sec, the BTC hash rate slid below 70 exa hash/sec briefly. Due to Chinese restrictions, miners had found themselves in a dicey situation. However, the figures recovered in tandem with the price action.

BTC

According to the data compiled by BitInfoCharts, the hash rate was hovering close to June levels near $155 exa hash/sec. At the current recovery rate, it may seem that the hash rate could surpass its all-time high by the year-end. However, the migration has been slower than expected, which could impede the growth trajectory.

Bitcoin creator, Satoshi Nakamoto’s statue unveiled in Budapest

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The world’s first and largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin [BTC] is one of the most popular currencies to exist. This asset not only changed the whole dynamics of the financial world but also initiated a whole new wave of digitalization across the globe. The asset always had a love-hate relationship with regulators and governments. While the world has slowly started to recognize and accept this asset, the fervor around it has witnessed parabolic growth.

It has been more than a decade that BTC has come into existence, however, nobody knows the man or woman behind this coin. The creator of Bitcoin goes by the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto and that is all the information that is there about the person behind the world’s largest cryptocurrency. Despite this, Budapest went on to formulate a statue commemorating Satoshi Nakamoto.

The statue of Nakamoto was unveiled and ready for viewing at Graphisoft Park in Budapest. The statue was reportedly created by sculptors Gergely Réka and Tamás Gilly.

Bitcoin creator’s first statue in Hungary

Priced at $47,471 and with a market cap of $893 billion, Bitcoin stands as the largest cryptocurrency. Little did Satoshi Nakamoto know that his/her/their creation would give birth to a whole new industry.

Celebrating Nakamoto’s creation, a bronze statue was placed in Budapest. This statue had a featureless face with a hoodie that entailed the logo of Bitcoin [BTC]. The sculptors behind the statue put forth the idea back in June 2021 itself. The face was built with a reflective material in which viewers could see themselves. With this, the sculptors intended to give the impression, “we are all Satoshi.”

Bitcoin

The co-founder of the statue project, András Győrfi, spoke about the coin and pointed out that Bitcoin created value along with its underlying technology, blockchain.

Several people were seen being a part of this event and Debreczeni Barnabás, CEO of Shinrai, a Hungarian crypto exchange was one of them. Barnabás spoke at the ceremony and said,

“Satoshi Nakamoto has created an independent money free of any middlemen that empowered people with financial sovereignty […] We have erected this statue to remind ourselves courage is virtue. We need to keep on dreaming big.”

El Salvador citizens protest against Bitcoin [BTC] adoption; ATM set on fire

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El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin into their national roster was seen as a significant turning point in the history of cryptocurrencies. While the virtual asset community celebrated the recognition, on-ground protests conveyed a very different story. Since the announcement by the El Salvador government, citizens have taken to the streets to demonstrate their frustration.

The protests in El Salvador were conducted by a population tired of bearing the government’s incompetencies. Many believed that the decisions taken by the upper echelons of the government were just a distraction from the real issues. El Salvador’s latest addendum for Bitcoin has only fuelled this raging fire.

On Wednesday, anti-government activists raised slogans against Bitcoin adoption as well as other policies undertaken by President Nayib Bukele. The main concern was that the government focussed on activities that acted as publicity stunts. Opposition lawmaker Claudia Ortiz recently claimed in an interview:

“Bitcoin was a very big economic decision, and it was done totally illogically, sent to congress and passed the same day. We are going through a profound fiscal crisis with high cost of living and unemployment and the government’s response, instead of serious economic policy, is to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.”

Large swathes of protestors raised slogans that bashed the government’s latest moves with many picking out the Bitcoin addition. Placards read “We were defrauded by Bitcoin” and ” No to dictatorship” amongst several others. The capital, San Salvador also witnessed a bunch of protestors set fire to a newly installed Bitcoin ATM. This event stood out from a largely peaceful movement trying to produce solutions for the country’s problems.

Bukele has also come under fire for his policies to consolidate power within his own strongholds. Several of the protests targeted his steps that were seen as anti-constitutional. Other than making Bitcoin a legal tender, El Salvador also proposed the elimination of the presidential re-election ban. These were just a few of the approximately 200 changes that Bukele’s powerhouse put forth in the latest government release.

After Bitcoin, movie theater chain AMC to add ETH, LTC, and BCH

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Bitcoin [BTC] and other cryptocurrencies have been gaining the attention of the globe. The demand for these assets grew at a significant rate which further urged major platforms to accommodate crypto assets. Prominent financial firms, educational institutions, even governments have started to incorporate crypto into its system. With celebrities accepting payments in crypto, it was about time that crypto went to the cinema.

Back in August, the world’s largest movie theater chain, AMC Entertainment went on to reveal that it would soon start accepting Bitcoin [BTC] for payments. Now, further elevating its presence in the crypto-verse the American cinema operator announced the integration of a few other prominent assets like Ethereum [ETH], Litecoin [LTC] as well as Bitcoin Cash [BCH].

Payments in crypto have become quite popular these days. With digitalization taking over the world, almost every platform has been incorporating crypto particularly BTC as a method of payment.

Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin joins AMC

In a recent tweet, the CEO and Chairman of AMC, Adam Aron noted that along with Bitcoin, customers would be able to use other currencies for payments by the end of the year. The tweet read,

“Cryptocurrency enthusiasts: you likely know @AMCTheatres has announced we will accept Bitcoin for online ticket and concession payments by year-end 2021. I can confirm today that when we do so, we also expect that we similarly will accept Ethereum, Litecoin, and Bitcoin Cash.”

Previously, in August 2021 the CEO, during a conference call put forth his interest in crypto. During the call, Aron noted that the American cinema operator was formulating an infrastructure specifically to accommodate BTC.

The entire world was disrupted by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. While things have slowly started to fall into place, cinemas have started to fill up. The inclusion of crypto into the system could pose beneficial for AMC as well as the crypto industry. Additionally, the world’s largest cinema chain had also hinted that it would soon expand across the United States, Middle East, and Europe as well.

Apart from AMC, the largest cinema chain in Thailand had also added BTC as its payment method.

Bitcoin ETF applications continue to flood SEC’s doors

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Despite garnering immense attention from across the globe, several aspects of the crypto-verse remain untouched by many. For instance, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds [ETF] have never seen the light of the day in the United States. As more players enter the market, the need for new and efficient features has started to surge. However, regulatory entities, particularly in the US seemed to be appalled by this.

The Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] of the US has received an array of Bitcoin ETF applications throughout the years. Despite the constant urge and need for a crypto ETF, the US clearly stated it wasn’t ready for a crypto ETF. Most of the applications were seen shown the door or postponed. This did not stop firms from diving into the field as applicants for Bitcoin ETFs are still knocking on the doors of the SEC.

Prominent financial services platform Fidelity Investments, as well as crypto asset, managed Bitwise, separately sent out ETF applications. While Fidelity had already sent out its application, the platform decided to drive SEC to approve its purpose.

Bitcoin ETFs are still making rounds

As per, Bitwise’s filling, instead of a regular Bitcoin ETF, the platform intends to roll out an ETF pegged to cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts. With this application, the platform hopes to garner much more than just an ETF. The filling read,

“[…] to obtain exposure to Bitcoin primarily through indirect investments in standardized, cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts traded on commodity exchanges registered with the CFTC.”

In an elaborate filling Bitwise explained to the SEC why its application should be approved.

In other news, Fidelity decided to take a step forward and urge the SEC to approve its ETF application. Fidelity Digital Assets’ president, Tom Jessop along with six others from the firm decided to meet with the officials of the SEC. In this privately held meeting, members representing Fidelity reportedly laid out reasons for the approval of an ETF in the country.

The executives pointed out various aspects that included the ever surging demand for cryptocurrencies and products related to them. Along with this, members noted how other countries were well ahead in the game, while the US was lagging behind.

Bitcoin mining firm greenidge merges with Support.com as Nasdaq beckons

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Mergers and acquisitions have played an important role in building the cryptocurrency ecosystem as they allowed the entry of new interested entities. The recent crypto boom also allowed several niche companies to become part of the traditional financial juggernaut. This new wave for tie-ups was further evidenced when Bitcoin mining firm Greenidge merged with Support.com to become Nasdaq’s latest entrant. Greenidge shares will be traded as GREE from here on out, combining the entities of both companies. 

According to the merger details, each share of Support .com will be canceled and converted into the 0.115 shares of Greenidge Class A common stock. If there remains any fraction of the exchange leftover, it will be settled in cash. Greenidge first shot to fame after committing to a 100 percent carbon-neutral Bitcoin mining process at all their locations. Post the merger announcement, Greenidge CEO Jeff Kirt stated:

“This merger is an important next step for Greenidge as we build upon our existing, integrated, and proven platform for Bitcoin mining and generation of lower-carbon affordable power.”

As soon as the merger is complete, Support.com is set to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Greenidge Generation Holdings Incorporated. The merger is being overseen by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC], which published a report on the two companies. Sources close to the merger informed us that Support.com will further provide a $33 million cash influx to streamline the merger.

Support.com President Lance Rosenzweig was of the opinion that the partnership would open up new doors in a regulated cryptocurrency environment. The cash flow is set to be directed into customer interface, security software, and improving the privacy expertise of the organization. The mining firm will conduct its operations from its upstate New York facility with support from its other branches.