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The United Kingdom is considering a ban on cryptocurrency investment marketing

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
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The United Kingdom is cracking down on crypto marketing. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that it would restrict marketing for high-risk cryptocurrency investments. The move followed a surge in cryptocurrency advertising and celebrity endorsements. Its purpose is to protect investors who are unaware of the substantial dangers associated with these transactions.

To protect customers, the FCA is tightening up on financial marketing. The measures will require Britain’s consumer body to “increase risk warnings and prohibit investment incentives such as bonuses for new members.”

Experts believe that these commercials may mislead consumers into believing they are safe when, in fact, they may lose their money if something goes wrong with their investment skills.

Many governments have regulated consumer investments in light of recent occurrences such as the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and cyber assaults on financial institutions. England, for example, rejected five out of ten investment firm applications.

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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued a warning concerning high-risk investments. They are concerned that many people are gaining access to these without fully understanding the risks. If something goes wrong, the activity could lead to debt or financial catastrophe.

Involvement of Celebrities

As interest in this new financial invention has expanded substantially, the FCA has issued a warning about the risks involved with digital currencies. Many celebrities began pushing cryptocurrency companies online without regard for their own or others’ safety. Some even landed in hot water as a result of what they stated on social media.

Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather Jr., two of America’s most well-known figures, are currently being sued in the United States for inappropriately marketing a cryptocurrency token.

The Spanish market regulator chastised soccer star Andres Iniesta for endorsing Binance on his social media pages. He has since removed all cryptocurrency-related content and moved to restrict advertising.

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Matt Damon has been a significant player in raising awareness of developing technology and its benefits. He recently went on television to promote Crypto.com, a digital asset platform that assists consumers in protecting their cryptocurrency investments.

New Crypto Investment Ads Guidelines

London has experienced a surge in cryptocurrency trade, with several advertisements adorning the streets of the United Kingdom’s capital. On the other hand, the Advertising Standards Authority has harshly criticized this.

As a result, the Advertising Standards Authority prohibited the use of seven advertisements in December. Instead, the advertisements presented cryptocurrency comparisons to encourage trade. They expect that this will result in new guidelines for cryptocurrency advertising.

In response to consumer complaints, the Financial Conduct Authority said that it is prepared to make a number of adjustments. People are concerned about the convenience and quickness with which they can invest their money.

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According to FCA’s Consumer Investment Strategy, which was announced last year, these changes will protect consumers from being taken advantage of while seeking high-risk investments without enough information or protection against potential losses.

Following consultation with the public, the UK’s finance ministry has declared that they intend to bring cryptoasset advertising under their purview for the first time.

The UK government intends to classify some cryptoassets as “limited mass-market investments.” As a result, only consumers with a high nett worth or experienced investors will be able to afford them.

According to the Financial Conduct Authority, organisations that offer cryptocurrency incentives must follow transparent and fair standards. The FCA expects businesses to be honest with their clients and not mislead them in any way about the benefits they provide.

The FCA has stated that final rules will be issued this summer. The new legislation is part of a UK government push to strengthen consumer protections, including suggested requirements from corporations themselves.

The Bitcoin NUPL Metric Indicates the Beginning of an Early Bear Period

By
PVP Team
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The value of the Bitcoin NUPL indicator has just decreased dramatically, indicating the beginning of the early bear market period.

According to Glassnode’s most recent weekly analysis, the recent trend of the BTC NUPL may indicate that the early bear market has begun. The “Net Unrealized Profit and Loss” (or NUPL) is an on-chain indicator that calculates the difference between the relative unrealized profit and loss.

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In layman’s words, this indicator tells us if the Bitcoinsystem as a whole is now profitable or losing money. The indicator works by examining each coin on the chain and determining whether its current price is lower or higher than its purchase price.

When the NUPL value is greater than zero, it indicates that the Bitcoin network as a whole is now profitable. On the other hand, negative values indicate that investors are now losing money.

Historically, the greater the deviation from zero, the closer the price was to a top or bottom (depending on which way of zero the metric currently points).

Now, here’s a chart that shows the Bitcoin NUPL’s trend over the coin’s history:

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As illustrated by the graph above, the Bitcoin NUPL has recently dropped drastically, and its current value is 0.325. This means that 32.5 percent of the cryptocurrency’s market worth is currently held as unrealized profit.

As the colors in the chart show, the indicator’s current value appears to be in a location that has historically suggested an early bear market trend.

Over the last year, there has also been a negative divergence. As a result, all NUPL indicators point to the start of a new bear market.

An interesting feature is that comparable values were present after the May 2021 catastrophe. Thus, in a sense, a bear market began at the same time, but it only lasted a few months.

At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin is hovering around $36.4k, down 13% in the last seven days. The value of the cryptocurrency has dropped by 28% in the last month.

The chart below depicts the price trend of BTC over the previous five days.

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Skeptics launch browser plugin that automatically blocks NFT Twitter profiles

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
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0
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The establishment of verified NFT profiles on Twitter has fueled the debate between supporters and detractors of digital art.

NFTs are referred to as “investment fraud” by a plugin developer

Twitter has launched a new feature that allows NFT owners to instantly validate their ownership of the digital art piece when they use it as their profile image. While many NFT enthusiasts applauded the functionality, emphasizing how it genuinely demonstrates the strength of digital authenticity certificates, critics were not amused by Twitter’s move.

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One open-source developer, mcclure, even published a browser plugin on her Github account that automatically excludes all Twitter users that use verified NFT profile images, branding digital art NFTs an “investment scam.” The readme file that comes with the plugin states, in addition to mentioning the environmental impact of NFTs and the myriad scams and art theft schemes that exist within the NFT market:

In short, NFT users are vexing to be around. People who purchased NFTs must continue to entice others to purchase NFTs, or the NFTs they purchased will lose value. Sockpuppet accounts, dogpiling, and indistinguishable monkey clones abound in Twitter NFT cliques. Blocking NFT users merely makes Twitter more pleasant.

Musk is also not amused

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Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, also commented on the new Twitter function in his customary succinct fashion. He contends that Twitter would be better served by focusing its resources on addressing the plethora of spambots that swamp the network with bogus giveaway frauds.

To make matters worse, the new functionality does not appear to be functioning properly. According to Mashable, Twitter does not check if an NFT collection is confirmed. As a result, it is still feasible to right-click an NFT, utilize the image file to create a fake NFT, and obtain one of Twitter’s coveted hexagon profile images for free.

El Salvador Purchases 410 More Bitcoins Following a Recent Drop

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
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El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, said that the Central American government had purchased 410 additional Bitcoins during a recent market downturn. The announcement came days after his administration announced its plan to invest heavily in cryptocurrency mining enterprises.

El Salvador buys 410 more bitcoins as the market falls. According to President Bukele, the country already has over 1,800 BTC and aims to issue a $1 billion 10-year bitcoin bond this year.

El Salvador is the first country to embrace bitcoin as legal cash, and the results have been excellent thus far. Before the Friday drop, the country’s central bank claimed that it had purchased at least 1,391 Bitcoin.

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El Salvador has a new strategy to become Central America’s crypto-mining powerhouse. With plans for a cryptocurrency-focused city and tax incentives available only if you are born there or invest money in blockchain initiatives, this country is swiftly becoming one to keep an eye on.

Salvadoran President Bukele feels that if bitcoin becomes a part of their country’s economy, FIAT will be rendered obsolete.

Bukele’s Tweets About Purchasing 410 Bitcoins

On January 14, 2022, Bukele tweeted, “I think I might have missed the drop this time.”

In response, Bukele stated, “Nope, I was wrong, didn’t miss it.” “El Salvador just bought 410 #bitcoin for only 15 million dollars,” he added.

The tweet soon went viral, garnering over 20,000 likes in just one hour. Furthermore, in a tweet, EI Salvador president Bukele stated, “Some folks are selling incredibly cheap.”

Was it worthwhile to adopt Bitcoin as a national currency?

Bukele’s plan to make El Salvador the first Latin American country to legalize cryptocurrencies caused considerable debate. Citizens have reacted violently to the adoption of bitcoin as national money. People believe that it will only benefit huge investors and not ordinary citizens.

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El Salvador’s national debt has reached an all-time high, accounting for more than half of the country’s GDP in July. As a result, Moody’s has reduced Moody’s credit rating to Caa1. This indicates risky investing prospects. People prefer not to invest in the country because they seek certainty about currency stability and risk minimization in the event of an unforeseen incident.

According to a recent report, El Salvador is seeking $1.3 billion in assistance from the International Monetary Fund. After incorporating Bitcoin into its legal tender system, the country requested assistance. However, the IMF has already advised the government not to use Bitcoin as a currency.

Experts Say the volume of OpenSea trading may force the price of Ethereum to crash

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
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0
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Higher altcoin inflows to cryptocurrency exchanges caused the current drop in Ethereum’s price. According to experts, the dip in Ethereum’s price is attributed to direct transfers from the NFT marketplace OpenSea.

The Transaction Volume of OpenSea Is Dangerous For Ethereum

According to Etherscan statistics, OpenSea has been dumping thousands of ETH on the market in recent weeks. According to the statistics, NFT creators on the platform have also profited. In January, the volume of NFT trading on OpenSea continued to rise.

OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace, has had remarkable NFT sales since the beginning of 2022. Monthly NFT sales on OpenSea now top $4.5 billion, according to Dune Analytics. This amount exceeds their previous monthly sales record of $3.5 billion and is anticipated to increase further.

Over the last two weeks, the volume of Ethereum departing has gradually increased. 21,000 Ethereum were sent directly from OpenSea’s wallet to Coinbase.

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Royalties and direct transfers from OpenSea are increasing in tandem with the sale of NFTs. The rapid expansion of the NFT industry may increase Ethereum inflows to exchanges like Coinbase.

An additional 35,300 Ethereum were distributed to NFT issuers as royalties from OpenSea. Colin Wu, a Chinese writer and crypto specialist, claims that the spike in selling pressure is due to a jump of Ethereum inflows from OpenSea to Coinbase.

Historically, an increase in selling pressure causes the price of an altcoin to plummet. Colin Wu posted on Twitter:

“One of the pushes on ETH to crash may come from OpenSea and NFT issuers.” The amount of ETH moved directly from OpenSea Wallet to Coinbase in the last two weeks reached 21,000, and the amount of ETH transferred to royalty distributors reached 35,300.” ​

Analysts have seen a rather big net outflow for Ethereum in 2021. During the recent month, the net inflow of Ethereum has surged dramatically.

A pseudonymous cryptocurrency analyst, IAmCryptoWolf, examined the Ethereum price trend and predicted that a bounce in the altcoin’s price around $2,300 would operate as a powerful barrier.

https://twitter.com/IamCryptoWolf/status/1485372738625810432?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1485372738625810432%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsbtc.com%2Fnews%2Fethereum%2Fopensea-trading-volume-may-force-ethereum-price-crash-expert-says%2F

However, OpenSea is not the primary cause of the ETH price decline. Ether is down more than 35% year to date, according to Coinmarketcap data. Over $746 has been removed from the value of ETH in the last 14 days as it has dropped below $3,000. ETH is currently trading at $2,407, down -3.71 percent in the last 24 hours.

Other Factors That Could Cause a Price Drop

Several factors have contributed to the crypto market crisis, including a broad market selloff in response to the US Federal Reserve Bank’s policy shift. Among the main aspects to consider is Russia’s shifting official orientation towards cryptocurrency.

On the other hand, market participants continue to be bullish about Ethereum in the long run. Several changes planned for this year by the network are driving these expectations. To begin, the next stage of Ethereum’s path towards becoming a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain is scheduled for this year. According to several projections, the merger will take place in the first half of 2022. This enhancement will improve the Ethereum network’s scalability and significantly contribute to the deflationary nature of Ether issuance.

As a result, it will boost adoption and, in the long term, drive up Ethereum’s price.

New Study Shows That Men Tend to Check BTC Prices More Often Than Women Do

By
Aletheia
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0
two men and four women meeting in office

According to new academic research, it appears that gender also plays a part in crypto investments, specifically in the psychological and demographic sectors.

More information has been revealed in this new study regarding the differences between men and women regarding crypto investing and trading. The study reveals that approximately 60% of women only have a limited understanding of crypto assets. Notably, some don’t even know about it at all. Meanwhile, about two-thirds of men have a medium-to-high level of understanding.

When you better understand or know about a particular thing, you can take more risks because you know what you’re doing. This applies to men who can keep track of the investments they’ve made more often than women, not to mention that they’re not afraid to take risks due to their better overall knowledge about crypto. The study also shows that women tend to try other investments instead due to having lower income and not having enough knowledge about crypto.

The Journal of Business, Economics, and Finance accepted the study on December 24, 2021, arguing that gender plays a significant role in making financial investment decisions. Researchers Çağla Gül Şenkardeş and Ozan Akadur obtained this data through a computer-aided survey. The survey, conducted in Turkey, discusses psychological and behavioral differences among men and women in crypto.

comfort room signageŞenkardeş is an interdisciplinary academic researcher focusing on technology and gender. She has been actively participating in the world of crypto for more than five years now, which led her to study the exclusion of women from the industry based on personal observations and research.

She said the following to Cointelegraph when discussing her study:

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The researcher also talked about her observations, stating that women tend not to have as much knowledge about crypto as men. As a result, this leads to the investment ratio decreasing. However, not all hope is lost regarding the matter. Şenkardeş says that various activist platforms worldwide want to help and encourage more women to participate in the cryptocurrency industry, either as a developer, a trader, etc.

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According to Keira Wright from Cointelegraph, massive changes and improvements need to be done beforehand if we want the playing field to become equal. According to a CNBC survey, women (7%) are less likely to invest in crypto than men (16%).

Wright concludes her observation by saying that the crypto industry could greatly help empower women and give them the chance to control their finances. Now that crypto adoption is gaining traction, the barriers between women and financial freedom are already falling apart.

Bitcoin miners in Kosovo are selling mining equipment, causing panic following a federal ban

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
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0
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Kosovo, a country in Europe, has banned cryptocurrency and Bitcoin mining due to rising energy prices and blackouts. Miners in the country have begun selling off their mining equipment as a result of the crackdown on Bitcoin mining.

Over 90% of the country’s energy is supplied by low-quality coal extracted in enormous amounts in Kosovo, known as “Lignite.”

As a result, the country’s energy bills are reduced. As a result, it is the EU country with the lowest energy consumption prices. As a result, the number of people mining BTC in Kosovo has increased dramatically in recent years.

However, the country has recently faced considerable issues as a result of rising fuel prices caused by a lack of natural gas in Europe and the collapse of Kosovo’s largest thermal power plant. These variables resulted in situations such as power outages and shortages.

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The week has been profitable for Bitcoin professionals willing to take a risk and work with Bitcoin mining machines in the Balkan States. Thousands of Kosovans have begun posting on various social media platforms such as Telegram and Facebook, as well as other well-known locations, in an attempt to sell off their mining machines at lower costs.

CryptoKapo, a crypto pundit and administrator of some of the country’s most important crypto forums, weighed in on the situation. He explained that BTC miners in Kosovo are currently panicking and selling or relocating their Bitcoin mining equipment to nearby regions.

It’s worth noting that all of the panicked social media protests took place after the Kosovan government imposed an immediate, albeit temporary, ban on all bitcoin mining. The administration explained that crypto mining was consuming the country’s electricity and causing an energy crisis in the Balkan state.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies use the PoW (Proof of Work) algorithm. The PoW consensus mechanism entails computers solving complicated puzzles with high-power processors, resulting in the creation of new tokens. Then, after successfully creating or mining currencies, users are rewarded with tokens according to the amount of processing power they provide.

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It’s clear which crypto assets are now being mined the most in Kosovo, one of the EU’s poorest countries. Given the country’s low energy costs and the fact that Bitcoin now trades for more than £31,500 per Bitcoin, the country sees a high volume of Bitcoin mining activity.

In addition, the Serbian region hosts the most cryptocurrency mining in the northern half of Kosovo.

Unfortunately for the majority of cryptocurrency miners in Kosovo, the federal government has just lately imposed a tight prohibition on cryptocurrency mining. They did this in order to keep energy prices from skyrocketing.

Coinbase Analyst Says Ethereum Will Still Be A Market Leader In 2022

By
Christian Allen Tandoc
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0
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Since its inception, Ethereum has been the dominant blockchain in the smart contracts field. It has kept this designation throughout the growth in decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, with the arrival of each of these new arenas, there have been swift competitors who continue to battle ethereum for supremacy.

The speed and cost of the blockchains have been one channel via which these competing smart contracts blockchains have had great success when compared to ethereum. Because of its tremendous network traffic, Ethereum remains the blockchain with the highest fees, but only for a limited time. Analysts at Coinbase explain how the leading smart contracts network may potentially retain its throne.

ETH 2.0 Could Be The Solution

In a recent research, Coinbase Institutional experts outline what could help Ethereum maintain its dominance over rival blockchains. ETH 2.0 has been in the works for some time but has been hampered by a number of setbacks that have shaken the project. However, engineers have stated that they are back on schedule, and if all goes as planned, ETH 2.0 might be released in 2022.

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The network will become more scalable as a result of this improvement, enabling faster and cheaper transactions. Once this occurs, analysts believe it will be able to maintain its supremacy over other networks that offer similar services at a lower cost and faster rate.

“ETH 2.0 has the potential to disrupt and perhaps dominate alternative L1s if it can manage cheaper fees and improved network performance,” according to the research.

In the meantime, the research says that the much-anticipated Merge may not be what the majority believes it to be. While it is said to improve throughput and gas prices, it is possible that the network’s existing issues will not change substantially. For one thing, the slower speeds and higher gas prices are the results of increased network demand. “As a result, if network activity goes up following the merger, fees on the base layer have the potential to climb,” the analysts wrote.

Do Not Underestimate the Ethereum Upgrade

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Despite the fact that the merger may not result in a major change if demand increases afterward, the upgrade to ETH 2.0 is not wholly worthless. The upgrade focuses on increasing throughput and drastically cutting gas costs and energy consumption, but there are also advantages to be made in terms of the network’s monetary policy.

A proof of stake technique will be used in ETH 2.0. This means that users will have to stake their ETH in order to participate as network validators. The move could result in an exponential increase in the number of validators, implying that more ETH is being staked on the Ethereum network than created.

If this is the case, Coinbase experts believe it will lower “the supply on exchanges, thereby exerting upward pressure on pricing from a supply-demand perspective.”

Twitter Account of Russian Crypto Exchange Latoken Hacked by Employee

By
Aletheia
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0

Russian cryptocurrency exchange Latoken’s Twitter account was recently the victim of a security breach. The hacker took over the exchange’s account, posting tweets implying that Latoken is a scam. The tweet, which has since been deleted, claimed that the exchange promotes “scam IEOs” and is deceitful to its users.

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The hacker changed Latoken’s Twitter profile photo into a scam warning image, while they also changed the account’s bio section into “LATOKEN is the leading SCAM platform!” Using the exchange’s Twitter as a platform, the hacker claimed that Latoken didn’t treat their employees properly and would fire them for no apparent reason.

It seems that the hacker has a lot of scathing things to say about the crypto exchange, as they accused it of scamming users of their money, promising a growth rate of 100%-500% without actually delivering on its promise. The hacker also said that Latoken founder Valentin Preobrazhensky was a “liar” and a “face seller.”

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Latoken’s official Twitter wasn’t the only victim of this security breach, though, as the exchange’s decentralized exchange (DEX) LADEX also got hacked. Using the LADEX account, the hacker posted a video wherein the Latoken CEO was yelling curses at someone during an online meeting.

Latoken’s TrustPilot page was also mentioned by the hacker, as it showcased only two out of five stars. However, TrustPilot does have a disclaimer on the site saying that it detected several fake reviews regarding the platform. Latoken published an official update on Telegram in response to the event, stating that it believes a “disgruntled employee” was the one who hacked their accounts.

It appears that hacks are a trend these days, as several other crypto-related YouTube accounts have recently been a victim of security breaches. In this case, the hackers would post a video with details on how to send money to the hacker’s wallets. However, they would use famous or renowned personalities like Box Mining, Ivan on Tech, BitBoy Crypto, and even Floyd Mayweather Jr. Fortunately, the account owners noticed those uploads right away and deleted the videos immediately.

New Browser Plugin Automatically Blocks Twitter Users With NFT Profile Photos

By
Aletheia
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0
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After only 24 hours since Twitter launched the NFT hexagonal profile picture for iOS users, a GitHub contributor who goes by the username “mcclure” has already coded and released a browser extension that can immediately block Twitter accounts who are using the new feature.

The browser extension, aptly named NFTBlocker, blocks iOS Twitter users who pay a monthly subscription to Twitter Blue and use an NFT as their default photo.

Chrome and Firefox users can install the current version of the program, and although it’s still running an early prototype version, users can expect more from it in later versions. For instance, the extension will supposedly “scan your notifications and do the blocking automatically.”

It appears that user mcclure has something against NFTs, calling them an “investment scam” in the extension’s README file.

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mohamed_hassan (CC0), Pixabay

To make things even more convenient for users, the developer recommends using the third-party app called Better TweetDek.

However, it seems that mcclure misunderstood something regarding Twitter’s decision to incorporate NFTs. In the extension’s README, the web developer mentions that since Jack Dorsey supports and invests in crypto, this means he can ultimately earn money if NFTs become even more popular, thanks to Twitter.

While it’s true that the former Twitter CEO is a significant crypto investor, he hasn’t shown any interest in NFTs at all since he stepped down last year. Instead, Dorsey is working hard to further Bitcoin adoption, mining, and development as the CEO of Block.

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