Celo, a blockchain platform, is exploring migrating from its standalone blockchain to an Ethereum (ETH) Layer-2 (L2) network. Originally, Celo had planned to utilize Optimism’s OP Stack, a customizable toolkit similar to Polygon (MATIC) but based on Optimism’s technology. However, Sandeep Nailwal, co-founder of Polygon Labs, has proposed an alternative solution to the Celo community. Nailwal suggests leveraging Polygon’s Chain Development Kit (CDK), an open-source toolset that enables the creation of customizable Layer-2 chains powered by zero-knowledge (ZK) technology. Celo’s Potential Move To Ethereum Layer-2 Via Polygon In a recent blog post, Polygon Labs suggested Celo could consider deploying an Ethereum Layer-2 solution using Polygon CDK. According to Polygon Labs co-founder Nailwal, this strategy would allow Celo to leverage the benefits of being an Ethereum Layer-2 platform while preserving the characteristics that have contributed to its success. The proposal emphasizes several key advantages of adopting Polygon CDK. Firstly, it enables cross-community collaboration by integrating with an ecosystem of Layer-2 solutions powered by zero-knowledge technology. Polygon CDK enhances compatibility with Ethereum by providing an environment equivalent to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). This alignment ensures a seamless transition for Celo, closely matching Ethereum’s technical infrastructure and tooling. Furthermore, according to Nailwal, deploying with the protocol’s CDK offers increased security for Celo. It allows Celo to leverage Ethereum’s proven consensus layer while incorporating the security benefits of zero-knowledge proofs. Regarding fees and scalability, Celo can benefit from low fees by utilizing the zkEVM validium architecture and off-chain data availability supported by Polygon CDK. These features contribute to cost-efficient transactions while enabling scalability for Celo’s network. Moreover, according to Nailwal, Celo gains access to a unified Layer-2 economy by becoming a part of the Polygon ecosystem by combining Ethereum’s mainnet with Polygon’s ecosystem. This integration creates a seamless experience for developers and users, facilitating interaction with both networks. Fast Transactions And Lower Fees? With zero-knowledge technology, Celo users can enjoy near-instant withdrawals, faster finality times, and instant cross-chain interactivity. According to the blog post, these features enhance the speed, efficiency, and security of transactions, ultimately improving the user experience. Through Polygon CDK, chains can achieve near-instant cross-chain interactivity with Ethereum, leveraging the power of ZK proofs to establish a secure and interconnected network. Overall, the proposed migration to Polygon CDK represents an opportunity for Celo to transition to an Ethereum Layer-2 solution while harnessing the advantages offered by Polygon’s ZK-powered technology. The proposal aims to initiate discussions between the Celo and Polygon communities to explore the potential benefits for all stakeholders involved. It is important to note that no final decision has been made at this stage, and the proposal signifies the beginning of discussions between the Celo and Polygon communities. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Ethereum is under pressure and has just dropped below $1,600. However, on-chain data shows that a crypto whale, “0xb154”, has moved more coins from Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange, to a non-custodial wallet. On September 21, the ETH whale transferred over $8.1 million of the coin. Whale Moves More Ethereum From Binance, Buying NFTs When crypto prices contract, outflows from non-custodial wallets to centralized ramps, including Binance and Coinbase, tend to rise. This is because centralized exchanges supporting stablecoins or fiat, including the Euro or JPY, offer an interface where they can easily swap for the “safety” of the less volatile fiat currencies or tokens designed to mirror them, including USDT. That the holder is shifting tokens away from Binance regardless of the heightened volatility can signal confidence for ETH and the broader Ethereum ecosystem. It is not immediately clear what could have motivated the whale to move coins away from the exchange at this point. However, what’s evident is that ETH is down roughly 4% from September 21’s peak and moving further away from April 2023 highs when it rose to over $2,100. Records show this is not the first time the whale moved funds. On September 6, the investor withdrew 9,688 ETH worth $15.8 million from Binance. Less than two weeks earlier, the whale notably transferred 22,340 ETH, worth $41.2 million, to Binance. A closer examination of the same address shows it has 24,556.59 ETH worth over $38.8 million at spot rates. Besides ETH, the address controls dust amounts of other periphery altcoins, including ZUM and SWISE. Apart from simply HODLing ETH, the whale has also been active on the non-fungible token (NFT) scene, looking at historical purchases. Over time, the investor has held over 100 NFTs where, on average, spent 0.2641 ETH; the latest purchase was on September 21. The investor has been actively accumulating NFTs since early April 2023 and has spent over 35 ETH. ETH And NFTs Are Fragile The whale has accumulated more ETH and NFTs when the crypto market is fragile. To illustrate, NFT trading volume is over 90% down from 2021 peaks. Presently, ETH prices are down 25% from April 2023 peaks. When writing, bears have successfully forced the coin below June 2023 lows as the coin moves further away from the psychological $2,000 level. Candlestick arrangement points to weakness, suggesting that ETH could dump even lower to $1,400—or March 2023 lows, if sellers press on.

Considering the current market price of OP tokens, the sale will generate approx $159M. Just two days before the sale, Optimism launched its third airdrop, distributing 19.4M OP. The plan to sell 116 million OP tokens to seven individual purchasers have been made public by Optimism as part of its treasury management strategy. Considering the current market price of OP tokens, the sale will generate approx. $159M. While it was speculated that Optimism will “dump” its tokens on the market, driving down prices, the private nature of the transaction makes it unlikely that this would really happen. The tokens are not part of the general supply since they come from the unallocated reserve of the OP token treasury. Covered by Original Working Budget According to the Optimism website, purchasers will be unable to resell their tokens on secondary markets for a period of two years. However, token purchasers are permitted to assign governance responsibilities to unaffiliated third parties. This sale, Optimism claims, was always planned for and is fully covered by the “original working budget of 30% of the initial token supply.” Just two days before the sale, Optimism launched its third airdrop, distributing 19.4 million OP tokens to more than 31,000 addresses for their participation in delegation activities related to the Optimism Collective, the DAO that runs the network. Among layer-2 scaling solutions, Optimism, Polygon, and Arbitrum are the most popular. Optimism’s total transactions in August surpassed Arbitrum’s, despite the fact that it was still behind in terms of TVL. At the time of writing, OP is trading at $1.31, down 5.64% in the last 24 hours as per data from CMC. Highlighted Crypto News Today: NEAR Foundation CEO Marieke Flament Steps Down

A cryptocurrency wallet associated with the prominent trading platform, Binance, has seen massive activity in the last 24 hours, leading to abnormally high transaction fees on the Ethereum network. Binance Wallet Incurs Nearly $850,000 Gas Fees In One Day A crypto wallet labeled “Binance 14” witnessed a significant transaction surge on September 21, rising above 140,000. As a result of this activity surge, transactions of the Binance-owned wallet consistently incurred gas fees of over 300 gwei, even though the network’s average fee was around 10 gwei. This gas fee jump and significant wallet activity have resulted in around 530 ETH (equivalent to nearly $850,000) in gas used on the Binance 14 address today. The increase in transactions on the Binance wallet had a broader, albeit temporary, impact on the Ethereum network. Gas fees on the blockchain momentarily jumped from less than 10 gwei to above 330 gwei per transaction, according to blockchain data tracker Etherscan. Gas fees refer to the cost blockchain users incur or pay validators to conduct transactions or execute contracts on the Ethereum network. Fees depend on the blockchain’s demand and supply of processing power. This means when a network has many transactions, there is often a high demand for processing power, which increases gas fees. Possible Reasons For The Gas Fee Spike In the wake of this incident, Wu Blockchain reported that Binance said it was carrying out its wallet aggregation process when the gas fees were low to facilitate withdrawals and ensure the safety of user funds. Nonetheless, some prominent crypto community members have weighed in on the situation, offering possible explanations for the gas fee spike. Martin Koppelmann, cofounder of the Gnosis chain, said on the X (formerly Twitter) platform that Binance might be using a “really inefficient script” to consolidate, leading to high transaction costs. Blockchain analysts at Scopescan gave a similar prognosis on the gas incident. The on-chain analytics platform said: Adam Cochran, a popular crypto investor, suggested that the abnormally high transaction fees might have been due to Binance’s subpar APIs. In his X post, Cochran criticized the exchange’s technological infrastructure while casting doubts on its capacity to safe-keep “hundreds of billions in coins across multiple protocols.” According to CoinGecko data, the price of Ethereum currently sits below $1,600, reflecting a 2.8% decline in the past 24 hours. Nevertheless, Ether maintains its position as the second-largest cryptocurrency, with a market capitalization of over $190 billion.

Over the years, Cardano (ADA) has grown to be one of the most beloved cryptocurrencies, securing its spot as one of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by market cap in the process. However, while the Cardano network has grown tremendously, investors in its native ADA token have not been as lucky with profitability levels plummeting over the last two years. How Many ADA Holders Are Seeing Profits? Data from the on-chain tracking website IntoTheBlock shows that ADA might be the worst performer of the top 10 in terms of profitability. While the other assets in the top 10 have managed to maintain a reasonable profitability level for holders during the bear market, ADA has been in free fall. As a result of this, the tracker shows that the percentage of ADA investors seeing any kind of profit at this time has fallen to 0%. An alarming 95% of holders are reported to be seeing losses while 4% are sitting in neutral territory, meaning the prices at which these tokens were last moved correlate with the current price of the altcoin. To put this in perspective, Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency in the market, is sitting at 64% of holders in profit. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, is at 52% of holders in profit. Dogecoin, which is one spot ahead of Cardano on the list, is at 41% of holders sitting in profit. Mid to long-term traders also completely dominate the ADA holder base. According to IntoTheBlock, 39% of all holders have held their coins between 1-12 months, while 61% of all holders have held for more than one year. Cardano Not Giving Up The Fight Despite the low profitability of the coin, investors seem to be looking toward ADA’s current price level as a good entry. This is evident in the CoinShares Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly report that showed that despite massive outflows from digital asset products, Cardano held strong. The altcoin was able to maintain its inflow trend with another $0.43 million flowing from institutional investors into the asset. Crypto analysts are also very bullish on the coin’s potential. One analyst, Kara Szabo, predicted that the price of ADA would rise as high as $5 in the next bull market, saying that the altcoin is in a prime price range for accumulation. Another analyst Hashtoshi, also said in an interview that he expects the altcoin to exceed its previous all-time high price marked in 2021. Hashtoshi attributes this expected rise to the network’s design and strong community backing the token.

An analyst has explained how the growth in “paper BTC” could be counteracting a bullish Bitcoin supply shock from taking effect. Liquid Bitcoin Supply Has Dropped, But Paper BTC Is Still At Significant Levels In a new post on X, analyst Willy Woo shared insight into how the paper BTC compares against the real BTC being traded. According to the analyst, “paper BTC” refers to the combined futures open interest value. Here is a chart that shows the trend in the ratio between the two types of Bitcoin over the past couple of years: The graph shows that the ratio’s value has fluctuated between 0.2 and 0.3 in recent months, suggesting that the paper Bitcoin has been 20 to 30% more than the real coins during this period. The real supply of the cryptocurrency may be divided into three categories: illiquid, liquid, and highly liquid. The on-chain analytics firm Glassnode puts coins into these divisions based on the behavior of the investors holding them. To be more precise, the ratio between the cumulative outflows and inflows of the investor since they entered the market is used to define their liquidity. This ratio’s value approaches zero for the illiquid supply, as holders of this cohort rarely move coins out of their addresses. Similarly, the value becomes close to 1 for the highly liquid supply, as investors of this class tend to shift their coins quickly. In the above ratio, Woo has only used this highly liquid supply as a measure of the “real BTC.” As the chart below shows, this highly liquid Bitcoin supply has been going down recently. The analyst notes that the less the number of coins in this supply, the more bullish is the outlook for Bitcoin since there are a lesser amount of coins available to be bought. Another analyst, James V. Straten, replied to Woo’s post with a chart that combines the liquid supply into the ratio, which, while less fluid than the highly liquid supply, still constitutes a notable part of the BTC traded supply. According to Straten, the liquid and highly liquid supplies have observed a combined drawdown of 500,000 BTC (around $13.3 billion at the current exchange rate) since May 2023. However, as the paper BTC is still significantly more than the real BTC, any “supply shock” effects being created out of the real supply becoming less liquid are being more than made up for by the increase in the paper supply. BTC Price Bitcoin has registered a sharp decline in the past day, as the coin has lost the $27,000 level and is currently floating around the $26,500 mark.

Since its inception, Bitcoin, the preeminent cryptocurrency, has witnessed several market cycles, each with its highs and lows. Its volatile nature has recently tested investors’ mettle, especially those who ventured into Bitcoin in the past three months. Bitcoin Short-Term Holders’ Cost Basis Troubles New findings from analytics firm Glassnode have painted a detailed picture of the current scenario, revealing the challenges faced by short-term holders (STHs) of the premier cryptocurrency. STHs, defined by Glassnode as entities holding Bitcoin for 155 days or less, have recently felt the heat. The firm’s research disclosed that roughly 97.5% of these investors grapple with unrealized losses. To put it in perspective, as of September 17, Glassnode reveals the cost basis (or average purchase price) for those refraining from selling their BTC stands at $28,000, precariously hovering around 5% above the prevailing market rate. This situation stresses those new to the crypto ecosystem, causing many to reconsider their potential investment strategies. Shift In Sentiment And Trend Confidence Metric Delving deeper, Glassnode’s “The Week On-Chain” report highlights a marked change in sentiment among Bitcoin’s short-term holders. The firm identified a distinction between STHs based on their activity – those who spend their Bitcoin and those who hold. An interesting trend emerged from this classification. The cost basis of the spenders dipped below that of the holders during the market’s descent from $29,000 to $26,000 in mid-August. This shift indicates a sentiment of concern and pessimism among the STH community. Glassnode introduced a ‘trend confidence metric to quantify this sentiment further.’ This metric is derived by deducting the spender’s cost from the holder’s cost basis and dividing the resultant value by Bitcoin’s current price. A pivotal takeaway from this metric was the evident negative shift in market sentiment. As stated in Glassnode’s conclusion: The firm noted that the current atmosphere of unease has been “unparalleled” since the FTX debacle. Glassnode noted: Meanwhile, although Bitcoin’s short-term holders are grappling with steep losses, the asset experienced a slight uptick yesterday, pushing its price above $27,000. However, this gain was short-lived as Bitcoin quickly retraced its steps, trading at $26,605 at the time of writing, with a 2.1% decline in the last 24 hours. Featured image from iStock, Chart from TradingView

General counsel Chris Donovan will succeed Flament as CEO. Flament also shared that the Near Foundation’s current treasury balance is 330 million NEAR. Near Foundation’s CEO and developer of the layer-1 protocol, Marieke Flament, has stepped down. On September 21st, Near Foundation announced that general counsel Chris Donovan will succeed Flament as CEO. Flament did not provide a detailed explanation for why she was leaving. Until the end of the year, Flament will continue to serve as Donovan’s strategic advisor. Flament will continue to work at the foundation in a board advisory capacity. Flament stated: Positive Developments Flament claims that the number of daily active users of Near Protocol increased from 50,000 to 3 million between 2021 and 2023, and that the number of people following Near Protocol on Twitter increased from 200,000 to over 2 million over the same time period. Within this time frame, Near signed partnerships with several companies. In June, Skoda Auto, a Czech automaker, unveiled a Near Protocol-based non-fungible token (NFT) platform. Flament also shared that the Near Foundation’s current treasury balance is 330 million NEAR, or around $350 million. At a market valuation of about $1.06 billion, NEAR is the 40th biggest crypto. The price of NEAR at the time of writing is $1.13, up 0.42% in the last 24 hours as per data from CMC. Highlighted Crypto News Today: Galaxy Digital Expands Into Europe Amid Ongoing Crackdown in the U.S

In a recent disclosure, a former employee of Alameda Research, a trading firm led by Sam Bankman-Fried, has unveiled crucial information regarding the dramatic 87% plummet in Bitcoin (BTC) value during 2021. The incident, which occurred on October 21, 2021, witnessed BTC’s price on Binance.US nosedive from approximately $65,760 to $8,200 within a short period. Insider Details Of Bitcoin Plunge And Alleged Manual Trading Error The ex-employee, Baradwaj, alleged that the trading firm was directly responsible for the sudden price drop, attributing it to a “manual trading error” rather than solely relying on algorithmic trading. Baradwaj claimed that a trader at Alameda Research inadvertently entered an incorrect decimal while attempting to sell a block of BTC in response to breaking news. Consequently, the trade was executed at an extraordinarily low price, resulting in a drastic crash. Highlighting Alameda’s trading operations, Baradwaj revealed that the firm primarily employed semi-systematic strategies, where traders fine-tuned algorithms to execute trades automatically at high frequencies. However, manual trades were occasionally employed in instances of system bugs or arbitrage opportunities on platforms where automated trading had not been implemented. Unlike automated trading, which adhered to sanity checks and market prices, manual trades were discretionary and prone to human error. Unfortunately, an Alameda trader’s mistake triggered a chain reaction on that fateful day in October. The erroneous trade caused Bitcoin’s price to plummet from its peak of $65,000 to as low as $8,000 on certain platforms before swiftly recovering through the actions of arbitrageurs. The incident created a stir on social media, with traders and news outlets scrambling to understand the sudden price movement. Binance.US, the platform at the center of the flash crash, issued a statement attributing the event to a bug in the trading algorithm of one of their institutional traders. Baradwaj further states that the losses incurred by Alameda Research were substantial, amounting to tens of millions. Still, due to the genuine nature of the mistake, the firm took immediate action to enhance sanity checks for manual trades. This incident exposed a vulnerability in Alameda’s risk management practices, prompting implementing “robust measures” to prevent similar occurrences in the future. The former employee shed light on the working culture at Alameda, characterized by a philosophy of moving fast to capitalize on opportunities, even if it occasionally resulted in unforeseen costs or vulnerabilities. This approach, championed by Sam Bankman-Fried, shaped the culture at Alameda Research and the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. For nearly two years, the BTC flash crash incident remained a puzzle to the public, leaving many wondering about the cause behind such a significant price drop. With the revelations made by Baradwaj, the veil has been lifted, providing valuable insights into the events that unfolded behind the scenes. As of this writing, the largest cryptocurrency in the market, BTC, trades at $26,600, down by over 2.1% in the 24-hour time frame. Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView.com

Linear Finance says it is looking into reports of a possible exploit assault on LUSD. Users have been urged to refrain from purchasing or trading LUSD until further notice. Linear Finance suddenly announced today through twitter that its native stablecoin, LUSD, may be vulnerable to an exploit assault. The team has taken swift action in response, which has caused widespread alarm among crypto users. As events evolve, Linear Finance says it is looking into reports of a possible exploit assault on LUSD. In light of this disturbing turn of events, the project has issued a severe warning to its users, urging them to refrain from purchasing or trading LUSD until further notice. This advice was mentioned to help keep the project on track and protect the people involved. Investigation Underway The project’s creators have also reassured users that liquidations have been put on hold for the time being. This measure has been implemented to protect user accounts from disruption during this time of transition. Meanwhile, the team at Linear Finance has committed to keep everyone informed as the inquiry progresses. The cryptocurrency community and Linear Finance’s backers and investors are waiting on these updates to better understand the current state of affairs and how they could affect the long-term viability of the project. The stablecoin LUSD rose 6.61% in the previous day as per data from CMC. At the time of writing it is trading at $0.9726, while its volume increased by 6881%. However, the cryptocurrency is facing high volatility throughout the day on fears of hacking. Linear Finance’s prompt action and reassuring its consumers is a tribute to the value of openness and proactivity in the cryptocurrency industry. Highlighted Crypto News Today: Mt. Gox Extends Repayment Deadline Again. Pushed to 2024

Galaxy Digital has hired Leon Marshall as CEO to oversee its operations in Europe. For the foreseeable future, Marshall will lead all international sales for Galaxy Digital. Due to the ongoing scrutiny by U.S. authorities and strict regulatory restrictions, investment firm Galaxy Digital is moving deeper into Europe. In light of the MiCA crypto legislation, Galaxy Digital has hired a former executive from crypto broker Genesis to lead its European operations and pursue development prospects in the area. Galaxy Digital, the cryptocurrency firm led by billionaire Mike Novogratz, is setting up an office in Europe. Galaxy Digital has hired Leon Marshall as CEO to oversee its operations and connections with its most important clients in Europe. Michael Novogratz stated: Eyeing Strategic Expansion Moreover, Marshall was named CEO of Europe after forming a partnership with asset management company DWS. In Europe, the companies will provide a variety of ETPs. Also, for the foreseeable future, Marshall will lead all international sales for Galaxy. Furthermore, expansion into Europe and other crypto-friendly nations like Singapore and the UAE is a priority for Galaxy Digital, as it is for other crypto businesses. Amid the crypto onslaught in the United States and the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) regulation, Europe is considered as a potential market for crypto businesses. Highlighted Crypto News Today: Mt. Gox Extends Repayment Deadline Again. Pushed to 2024

The Bitcoin mining industry has risen steadily in the past few years thanks to the widespread adoption and increasing interest in the Bitcoin blockchain. This growth has led to a vast increase in Bitcoin’s hash rate, causing concerns regarding the carbon footprint left behind by mining activities. A recent Bloomberg study has shown, however, that the carbon footprint left behind by the Bitcoin blockchain has stalled in recent years. Bitcoin Unlikely To Burn The Oceans It’s no news that Bitcoin mining is now a big industry on its own, with some mining firms even contributing to the economy and grid of their locations. Major BTC mining companies have also turned years of profits, which have attracted many investors, including large investment firms. The issue of climate change and rising temperature have been the focus of many activists for years, with many accusing the energy-intensive activities of BTC mining of contributing negatively. As a result, regulatory agencies have been more insistent that mining corporations investigate safer and cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels for their energy needs. To this end, Jamie Coutts, an analyst for Bloomberg, revealed that the percentage of Bitcoin transactions that use sustainable energy has increased steadily since 2021 and is now over 50%. This rise was particularly kickstarted by China’s ban on Bitcoin Mining in 2021 and Kazakhstan’s cap on the energy used by domestic crypto miners. Since then, the overall hash rate has increased by 286%, yet carbon dioxide emissions have decreased from 600 grams of CO2 per KWh to 296.5 grams of CO2 per KWh. What Does This Mean For The BTC Ecosystem? Bitcoin mining’s energy requirements take up around 50% of a miner’s operational cost. Cheaper clean energy is a way to offset these costs while simultaneously reducing the industry’s emissions or carbon intensity. The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) also recently lowered its Bitcoin electricity consumption estimates by 25% from 105.3 TWh to 95.5 TWh, showing the transition is having better effects. A transition into cleaner energy methods speaks well for BTC and the crypto industry as a whole, considering the blockchain has been heavily criticized in the past by environmentalists. This leaves room for companies to accept Bitcoin as a payment method without facing any kind of backlash. Elon Musk’s Tesla, for instance, pledged in 2021 to resume allowing BTC payment for its cars when there’s a confirmation of 50% clean energy usage by miners. Additionally, Climate technology venture investor and activist Daniel Batten argues that this metric is more than 50%. On-chain analyst Willy Woo also estimates that the carbon footprint of the Bitcoin mining sector can be turned negative by an investment of around $450 million.

Data shows Bitcoin shorts have been piling up on cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Deribit during the past few days. Bitcoin Funding Rates On Binance & Deribit Are Deep Red Right Now According to data from the analytics firm Santiment, traders on the derivative market have continued to bet against the cryptocurrency recently. The relevant indicator here is the “funding rate,” which keeps track of the periodic fee that derivative contract holders on an exchange are paying each other right now. When this metric has a positive value, it means that the long traders are paying a premium to the short traders in order to hold onto their positions. Such a trend suggests that the majority sentiment on the given exchange is bullish currently. On the other hand, the metric being under the zero mark implies the traders on the platform hold a bearish mentality at the moment, as the shorts are the dominant force. Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin funding rates for Binance and Deribit over the past month: As displayed in the above graph, the Bitcoin funding rate for both of these exchanges had been mostly positive during the last third of August and the starting third of this month, implying that the majority of the traders had been longs. The bets of these holders had failed, however, as the price had seen an overall downtrend in this period. Since the rebound earlier this month, though, the sentiment has flipped in the market as shorts have piled up on both of these platforms. These short traders haven’t been successful so far, either, as the value of the cryptocurrency has seen net growth since they have appeared. Historically, the market has actually been more likely to go against the expectation of the majority, so this pattern may be in line with that. The reason why the asset would move against the bets of these contract holders is that mass liquidation events, called squeezes, become more likely to happen the more lopsided the sector is. A large amount of long liquidations can amplify crashes, while short liquidations can provide the fuel for upward surges. Since Bitcoin is still seeing aggressive shorting, it may be a positive sign for the cryptocurrency’s current price rise, as a potential short squeeze could help it extend further. Interestingly, while Bitcoin is being bet against right now, Ethereum’s funding rates are positive, as pointed out by analyst James V. Straten in a post on X. From the graph, it’s visible that the funding rates of the top two assets in the sector have gone opposite ways recently. This means that while BTC may be able to build an uptrend off the shorts, ETH could face the opposite effect if the longs end up being liquidated. BTC Price Bitcoin has seen a drawdown of about 1.5% today as the asset’s price has now dropped towards the $26,700 level.

The price of Bitcoin was rejected as it approached critical resistance north of $27,000, and selling pressure continues over today’s trading session. If buyers can’t defend current levels, BTC’s price will likely re-test critical support, but this action could trigger a bounce for the cryptocurrency, according to fresh data. As of this writing, Bitcoin trades at $26,650, with a 2% loss in the last 24 hours. Over the previous seven days, the cryptocurrency has recorded sideways price action and underperformed XRP and Toncoin’s TON, which recorded a 5% and 25% profit, respectively, across a similar period. The Bitcoin Level To Watch If Bears Take Over An analyst crypto research firm Material Indicators shared a fire chart showing the most significant liquidity levels for the BTCUSDT trading pair on Binance. On a monthly basis, traders on this venue have been selling the cryptocurrency and moving liquidity below current levels. The chart below shows that the Binance orderbook for this trading pair looks “thin.” The analyst claims a “small buy wall” at around $24,700, which stands as a “line in the sand” that needs to be defended to prevent further downside price action. Liquidity around this critical level is low, but bulls can inject capital to defend the level in case of further downside. If bulls succeed, Bitcoin will likely rally and reclaim previously lost territory. Otherwise, bears will have the opportunity to press further on the price, returning it to critical support around $23,000 and $22,000. These levels display even less liquidity than $25,000, which could hint at a deeper correction of “Bearadise,” as the analyst called it. Additional data provided by trading desk QCP Capital indicates that macroeconomic forces have played a critical role in influencing the price of Bitcoin. Yesterday, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) sent a “hawkish” surprise across financial markets, limiting any BTC upside momentum. This event had a bearish impact on legacy markets, with the Nasdaq 100 and rates markets breaking “some very key levels,” QCP Capital stated. The trading desk added: Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview

Zug, Switzerland, September 21st, 2023, Chainwire The partnership entails an enterprise node deployment service offered by Chainbase The Open Network (TON) Foundation has partnered with Chainbase and Tencent Cloud to simplify blockchain development as the Foundation ushers in the next era of Web3 mass adoption across the Asia-Pacific region. As one of the world’s leading cloud providers, Tencent Cloud offers reliable computing resources and optimized network connectivity through its global cloud infrastructure. Tencent Cloud has already successfully supported TON validators and plans to expand its services further to help meet TON’s high compute intensity and network bandwidth needs. Tencent Cloud and TON Foundation are devoted to supporting web applications and bots built within Telegram. For example, Telegram games built on TON can benefit from Tencent Cloud’s enriched gaming solution and reference cases. For all projects built on TON, Tencent Cloud will offer, subject to approval, a dedicated amount of cloud credits and product discounts, made available through the Tencent Cloud Startup Program. TON Foundation offers an enterprise-ready blockchain system built for large-scale Web3 applications featuring near-instant transaction speeds, highly reliable connectivity, low latency, and low fees. TON Foundation’s support for the launch of Wallet in Telegram, an integral piece of the Web3 ecosystem infrastructure, is a clear demonstration of this. Today, TON is well suited to cultivate growth in emerging markets like the Asia-Pacific region, as developers are able to leverage the tools provided by Tencent Cloud and TON to acquire and onboard users, ensuring a familiar, intuitive, and natural user experience. Leveraging their extensive experience in data indexing and querying, Chainbase will offer the first data indexing product on TON. This will allow for the free utilization, querying, and analysis of all TON data per developers’ unique use cases. Chainbase’s enterprise node deployment service will deliver low-latency and highly reliable blockchain connectivity for Web3 projects and developers on TON, empowering them to achieve more with less effort. This partnership aims to simplify blockchain development and elevate user experiences across various industries. Projects interested in learning more about integrations through Chainbase and Tencent Cloud may contact TON Foundation directly via Telegram. About TON Foundation: The Open Network Foundation (TON Foundation) is a non-profit organization founded in Switzerland in 2023. TON Foundation is 100% funded by the community, acting in the community’s interests, and supports initiatives aligned with The Open Network’s mission. Learn more at https://ton.foundation. About The Open Network (TON): The Open Network (TON) is putting crypto in every pocket. By building a Web3 ecosystem in Telegram Messenger, TON is giving billions the opportunity to own their digital identity, data, and assets. See more at https://ton.org/. About Chainbase Chainbase is an all-in-one data infrastructure for Web3 that allows you to index, transform, and use on-chain data at scale through diverse tools we provide, such as pre-defined APIs, SQL studio, data syncing, subgraph hosting, and more. With an OPEN, FAST, RELIABLE platform, and a suite of seamless developer tools, Chainbase’s ultimate goal is to increase data freedom in the crypto and unleash better data utilization and full data ownership. More than 5,000 developers actively utilize our platform as their data backend and integrate our service into their main workflow. Additionally, we are working with ~10 top-tier public chains as first-tier validators and managing over US $500Mn tokens as a validator node provider. Find out more at: chainbase.com About Tencent Cloud Tencent Cloud, one of the world’s leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and network security. As for Web3, Tencent Cloud is committed to helping builders accelerate the adoption of decentralized technology, with our connections with global Web3 ecosystem players, and our simple, secure tools and cloud infrastructure. Find out more at: https://www.tencentcloud.com/solutions/web3 Contact TON Foundation [email protected]

Alchemy Pay secures Money Transmitter License in Arkansas for global expansion. First U.S. license, joining industry leaders Coinbase, Block, and others. Cryptocurrency payment gateway Alchemy Pay has taken a significant step toward global expansion by securing a Money Transmitter License in the state of Arkansas, United States. The license, issued by the Arkansas Securities Department, grants Alchemy Pay the authority to offer various financial services, including selling or issuing payment instruments, handling stored value and prepaid access, and transmitting money, digital currency, or monetary value. The Alchemy Pay team revealed that the license was officially granted on September 13, marking it as the company’s first Money Transmitter License in the United States. This places Alchemy Pay alongside other cryptocurrency firms such as Coinbase, Block (founded by Jack Dorsey), MoonPay, and bitFlyer exchange, which are authorized to facilitate crypto-to-fiat transactions in Arkansas. A Milestone? The acquisition of the Money Transmitter License marks as a noteworthy achievement for Alchemy Pay, as the community believes that it is showcasing its commitment to obtaining local regulatory approvals in key global markets. Notably, the firm has already obtained licenses in countries like Indonesia and Lithuania. Robert McCraken, Alchemy Pay’s ecosystem lead, emphasized the company’s dedication to compliance, stating, “With a strong dedication to compliance, our team had invested substantial time and effort into securing licenses across various countries and regions.” He added that Alchemy Pay is preparing to extend its services to users in the United States, aligning with its mission to bridge the gap between traditional fiat and the crypto global economies. Adding to it, Alchemy Pay was included as a compliant service provider within the Site Data Protection program by global payment giant Mastercard in June 2023. Also it has achieved recognition as an official service provider by Visa in January 2023.

In 2014, Mt. Gox lost 850,000 Bitcoins, now worth nearly $23B, due to a major security breach. They pushed the original deadline of October 31, 2023, to October 31, 2024. This year, the U.S. DOJ charged two individuals with conspiring to steal a significant share of the stolen BTC. In another chapter in the Mt. Gox saga, Nobuaki Kobayashi, the trustee overseeing the defunct Bitcoin exchange’s estate, has officially announced an extension of the deadline for repaying its creditors. This decision comes as the exchange’s users have endured a seemingly never-ending, decade-long pursuit of closure via fund reimbursement following the 2014 security breach. According to the letter dated September 21, 2023, the new deadline for creditor repayments has now been pushed to October 31, 2024, which was originally slated for October 31, 2023. Despite the delay in the final payout, there is a glimmer of hope for the affected creditors. Also, Kobayashi has stated that repayments for these creditors could potentially commence as early as the end of this year. Providing some relief to those who have been patiently waiting for their lost funds. The Mt. Gox security breach, which occurred on February 25, 2014, resulted in a staggering loss of 850,000 Bitcoins belonging to investors, worth nearly $23 billion based on current prices. The exchange managed to recover approximately 20% of the stolen tokens in the aftermath of the hack. Further, earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice made significant strides towards justice in the case. Charging two Russian men—Alexey Bilyuchenko and Aleksandr Verner—with joining to steal approximately 647,000 Bitcoins from Mt. Gox between 2011 and 2014. This marked a significant breakthrough in holding those responsible for the historic cryptocurrency theft accountable.

After a rigorous testnet period, a new decentralized marketplace for Bitcoin hashpower goes live Sept. 26th on the Arbitrum One network CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#bitcoin–The Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace will officially launch on September 26th, unlocking global access to Bitcoin mining hashpower for Web3 users. Launching on September 26th on the Arbitrum One network, the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace represents the next step towards the greater decentralization of Bitcoin mining. Bitcoin miners will have a frictionless path toward buying and selling mining capacity, and non-miners will be able to participate in the same marketplace. Smoothing the “Peaks-and-Valleys” for Bitcoin Miners’ Operations Through the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace, miners can sell their hashrate through smart contracts, specifying hashrate amount, duration, and price. This contributes to business predictability and de-risking, enabling them to set fixed prices that provide regular earnings. Conversely, miners can use the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace to purchase hashpower from other miners. This allows miners to increase their chances for earning bitcoin rewards without purchasing rapidly depreciating equipment. These buyers can easily browse and select contracts that suit their needs, secure in the knowledge that they are engaging in direct, trustless transactions and paying in real-time as the contract is completed. In either scenario, the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace helps provide additional predictability to their revenue streams. Further, miners in low-electricity-cost areas could arbitrage those below-average prices through selling hashrate contracts at market prices, keeping the difference. Mining: Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere Through the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace, users can mine bitcoin without the need for highly specialized knowledge, costly hardware outlays, or long-term commitments. With the Lumerin Wallet and detailed documentation, users can buy hashpower contracts, route that hashpower to their pool, and earn mining revenue directly. Unlocking Access to Mining for a More Decentralized Bitcoin Founder Ryan Condron explained the potential impact of the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace’s launch: “Today marks a milestone in our journey to re-democratize mining,” says Condron. “With the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace now live, we are starting to restore the decentralization of the Bitcoin mining landscape by providing a direct, accessible path for everyone to be part of the mining ecosystem.” The choice of launching on the Arbitrum One network underscores Lumerin’s commitment to user experience, offering users faster transactions, reduced gas fees, and a seamless experience overall. “Bitcoin hashpower remains the basis for supporting the most secure distributed network yet devised, creating opportunities for new financial systems and so much more,” said Jeff Garzik, CEO and co-founder of Lumerin partner Bloq, Inc. “Through Lumerin, professional miners and crypto enthusiasts alike will be able to participate in Bitcoin mining in ways that make the distribution of hashpower more fluid and democratized, thus bringing our ecosystem closer to its goals.” The platform’s unique approach has the potential to reshape the dynamics of crypto mining, making it more accessible and appealing to a wider audience. About Lumerin The Lumerin Protocol is an open-source project working on decentralized data stream routing. Its first development, the Lumerin Hashpower Marketplace, is a peer-to-peer platform that makes Bitcoin hashrate tradable and liquid, unlocking mining profitability and providing greater access to capital and hashrate on a global scale. Website: https://lumerin.io/ X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/hellolumerin Medium: https://medium.com/lumerin-blog Telegram: https://t.me/LumerinOfficial Introductory Video: “Mine Bitcoin Everywhere” Documentation: https://lumerin.gitbook.io/lumerin-hashpower-marketplace/ Contacts For media inquiries, interviews, and more information, please contact: [email protected]

A significant expansion to its upcoming staking programme has been announced by the delegated liquid staking protocol stake.link. The introduction of a number of new features and improvements will support stake.link’s status as the leading Chainlink staking solution. The new features made public by stake.link are intended to benefit from Chainlink Staking’s v0.2, the version that will go live in Q4. The Priority Pool is a feature that has been created by stake.link among other modifications. Users will be able to stake LINK using a smooth and highly effective approach before Chainlink increases its capacity from 25 million to 45 million tokens. For depositors, the priority pool automates LINK staking, resulting in a “set and forget” staking experience. Furthermore, according to a statement from stake.link, the company will migrate its stSDL (staked SDL) receipt tokens to reSDL (reward escrow SDL), an NFT version of the SDL token. This will be done with the intention of encouraging long-term platform involvement by raising boosts and governance votes. According to the Chainlink roadmap, the 20M LINK that will be made available to the Chainlink staking pool in Q4 will be released in three stages. Less than 20M LINK may be available for deposit after phase three begins, when the LINK from the stake.link priority pool will be staked against the community pool. Therefore, while staking in the priority pool, LINK owned by holders of reSDL will be given preference over LINK held by non-holders of reSDL. Stake.link has also revealed that it would soon introduce “SergAI,” a chatbot powered by AI. SergAI will provide answers to queries on issues like liquid staking thresholds, the priority pool, and how receipt tokens work as a subject matter expert on all things Chainlink and stake.link.

Utherverse brings almost 20 years of operational experience, patents and proprietary technology, millions of users and hyper-realistic experiences to the metaverse NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Utherverse, one of the largest metaverse platforms in the world, has begun taking reservations for its $1.235 million equity crowdfunding campaign with Republic, a leading investment platform that provides access to startup, real estate, crypto and gaming investments for both retail and accredited investors. People interested in participating in the crowdfund can get more information and reserve a spot at https://republic.com/utherverse. Investors will be notified when the crowdfund goes live. The minimum investment is $150. “Utherverse is uniquely poised to truly deliver on and realize the full potential of the metaverse,” said Brian Shuster, founder and CEO of Utherverse. “From hyper-realistic user experiences and AI-driven innovations to e-commerce, B2B and B2C marketing and revenue opportunities, we are establishing a platform that will be a dominant force in the virtual world.” Investment considerations include: Utherverse is already the world’s most successful metaverse platform based on number of users. The current generation of the Utherverse platform was successfully franchised in 17 countries, creating unprecedented opportunities for the Web3 version. As one of the first virtual worlds, Utherverse has almost 20 years of operational history which is far beyond that of any competitor. The upcoming beta launch of the Utherverse Web3 platform is already receiving widespread attention with the closed beta almost at capacity. More than 80 patents have been issued for the company’s technology, including many Internet-enabling technologies and intellectual property that addresses a variety of needs within metaverse platforms, ranging from the physics of movement and immersive displays to physical interaction between users and animation control. Utherverse features the proprietary Xaeon Web3 browser and metaverse search engine that will let users quickly search millions of metaverse worlds, landmark their favorite places and teleport directly to events and locations. fNFTs (functional NFTs), dynamic tokens that represent goods with utility that have function within Utherverse, such as apparel, living spaces and event tickets. Utherverse has offered the first and second pre-sale rounds of the Uther Coin (UTHX) through Nexus Ecosystems as part of the token’s initial decentralized offering (IDO). The Uther Coin will be the in-house currency for all metaverses on the Utherverse platform. In addition, Utherverse is offering metaverse-as-a-service as well as an interoperable metaverse platform. This includes tools and technologies that will enable third parties to create and operate their own virtual worlds, creators to design digital assets and businesses to offer a wide range of products and services in a wide range of industries. Bonus perks for different levels of crowdfund investment include whitelist for early beta access, VIP access, varying quantities of UtherTokens, fNFT apartments and penthouses, and investor and founder titles. Utherverse will launch its closed beta of the next generation version of the platform Sept. 26. The closed beta will provide a preview of its Web3 capabilities as well as test and continue the final build-out of the next generation of the popular platform. Users will be able to claim their Utherverse usernames and begin to experience the Web3 version of the platform with experiences such as such as outdoor concerts, rooftop dance clubs with live DJs, film and movie screenings, shopping, art galleries and much more. In addition, users will be able to interact with each other in a variety of settings, as well as buy and sell virtual goods and participate in other e-commerce opportunities. Utherverse is a metaverse platform that enables developers to build interconnected virtual worlds, provides hyper-realistic immersive experiences for consumers and opportunities for companies to market and monetize their products and services. Utherverse generates revenue from custom metaverse building services, sales of NFTs and a variety of business verticals including advertising/marketing, shopping/retail, conferences/conventions, education, dating, lifestyle, entertainment events/performances, VIP experiences and virtual offices. The Utherverse platform was launched in 2005 by internet visionary Brian Shuster. The platform has served tens of millions of users with billions of virtual commerce transactions. Utherverse has developed the technology and received more than 80 patents critical toward operating large-scale metaverses. The company is based in British Columbia, Canada. More information can be found online at Utherverse.io; Twitter/Instagram: @Utherverse; Facebook: /UtherverseDigital; LinkedIn: /utherverse-digital-inc/; Telegram: /UtherverseAnnouncements; Discord: /Utherverse.io. Contacts Steve Honig The Honig Company, LLC 212-401-4875 [email protected]