Category: Cryptocurrency News

With the rapid pace of progress and innovation, blurred together with at least as much buzz-word saturated hype, it can become easy to get lost in the growing wave of news, advertisements, and social media blasts around the next big thing. Two of these buzzwords driving conversation are “Web3” and “Dapp”.  What makes it more difficult is that you can’t just dismiss the news on either term.  There are genuinely world-changing innovations that are being developed, and entire ecosystems are growing so rapidly that they feel like they are appearing overnight. It might be worthwhile to pause, review these buzzwords, and take a sample snapshot of how they are being used—not next month, not years from now, but today—in ways that show just how important Web3 is, Dapps are, and just how interconnected the two have become. While there are many large ecosystems that could be examined, we’d like to target the Avalanche Blockchain ecosystem here because of its architecture, which makes it require the innovations Web3 offers even more than competing ecosystems.  However, that dependency also leverages even more benefits through its client platform Dapps. Why Web3? While you can find a number of great in-depth descriptions of Web3 characteristics (and what exactly Web1 and Web2 were), we are going to assume you know the basics here and will focus on a few key elements that make Web3 truly unique over the current version of the internet. A key feature—and key promise—for Web3 is its decentralization.  This seems interesting on the surface, but just keeps getting better the further you dig.  Decentralization means users can’t be easily censored because control is decentralized; though if the dispersed community all felt the same way, a member of the community could indeed be censored.  The difference is that the control is highly democratized, and coercion to conform simply has no teeth.  Decentralization means that a payment service can’t be denied or restricted; payments can often be completed with no personal data, and can’t be shut down because the payments are conducted peer-to-peer.  Decentralization means robustness; Web3 servers are nearly immune to crashing because it is made of a network of many, many computers worldwide. Why Avalanche? The Avalanche ecosystem is similar to competing ecosystems, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, in many ways.  However, we wanted to look specifically at Avalanche Dapps because it is built not just on one blockchain, but on three interconnected blockchains.  The Avalanche Exchange Chain (X-Chain) focuses on creating new digital assets for the platform; the Contract Chain (C-Chain) focuses on maintaining the ecosystem’s smart contract and its Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) implementation; and the Platform Chain (P-Chain) works to build the foundation for validators, platforms, and subnets. This complex coordination of interlocking and dependent chains is incredibly important, and relies heavily on the characteristics of Web3 to operate.  Without true decentralization, the ecosystem would not be able to scale up to its massive 4,500 transactions/second capacity—compared to Bitcoin’s 7 Tx/sec and Ethereum’s 14 Tx/sec.  The three chains working in harmony, using an advanced smart contract and a wider-than average consensus distribution, create a decentralized ecosystem nearly impervious to hacks, censorship, and downtime. These elements firmly cascade to Avalanche’s many Dapps, where they utilize Web3 to operate in ways impossible with Web1 or Web2.  Namely, they are able to thrive autonomously using programmable business logic by building on the smart contract, which saves development time and ensures a stable, predictable system.  They benefit their customers greatly through direct ownership (self-custody), where there is no need for an intermediary to hold a user’s assets on their behalf.  And they are able to operate without the threat of censorship or a centralized body targeting a user. Colony What it is: Colony brings Ecosystem Farming solution. As viable projects across the ecosystem are cultivated, and the invested members of the DAO are able to reap the yield. Colony is a platform that combines the elements of DeFi, token-based economy, and yield-bearing investment; with a DAO-based approach that utilizes and is driven by the community.  Colony uses these elements for the purpose of supporting early platforms through venture capital (VC) programs raised and determined by the DAO. You think early- stage #airdrops are the coolest thing about @Colonylab‘s staking mechanism?🤔 Airdrops are just 1 out of the 5 features staking gives you access to! We didn’t call it #EcosystemFarming for nothing!#CLY provides exposure to the entire #Avalanche ecosystem. pic.twitter.com/RWvEiiQesL — COLONY 🔺 (@Colonylab) December 13, 2021 Why Web3 is critical:  Normally (Web2), none of these elements would be possible.  Traditional VC’s are highly centralized structures, with often oblique decision-making processes that eliminate many great platforms from ever getting off the ground.  This platform enables normal investors of all sizes to become part of the VC, generating capital for the projects they vote on, and sharing in the rewards when those platforms bear fruit.  And without a Web3-enabled wallet, users would not be able to connect, invest, and reap the high yields possible with a community-driven VC platform. NFTrade What it is:  NFTrade is a wide-ranging NFT marketplace, which opens the possibility for users to create a fully decentralized NFT, or decide to create an entire collection of NFTs for sale.  Once listed on the marketplace, users can attract buyers, conduct peer-to-peer transactions using Web3-driven wallets, and keep those assets in their own hands instead of having to delegate their custody to the platform. Why Web3 is critical:  The platform relies heavily on the Web3 aspects of decentralization and smart contracts to empower anyone to build their own NFT, which is a complex process without the proper tools.  The average user can utilize the platform to create a unique digital asset, connect it to a smart contract, and make that asset available for sale on a fully decentralized platform that connects them to many other buyers/sellers around the world. Cryptoblades What it is:  Cryptoblades is an immersive, battle-style blockchain game where users can buy characters, weapons, and fight other players for real rewards.  The heroes and weapons they purchase are NFTs, and they are purchased using tokens in order to ensure a decentralized platform and marketplace.  When players sell assets for tokens, they can even stake the tokens to exercise DeFi style yields. Why Web3 is critical:  As with the other two Dapps, Cryptoblades relies on its smart contract to manage the various players, their marketplace interactions, and token purchase/sale/stake actions.  Users have Web3 wallets in order to maintain protection and custody of their NFTs and tokens from the game, and certain gaming elements are recorded on-chain to ensure fairness and transparency despite the decentralized nature of the game. Wrapping Up Though Web3 and Dapps are all the buzz right now, it’s rewarding to see examples where they are hard at work supporting real platforms, real users, and real ecosystems.  Without Web3 none of this would be possible, and as Web3 matures, Avalanche and other blockchain ecosystems will continue to find use cases and support platforms that will bring further innovations leveraging Web3 on their dapps.   Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash

The Galaxy phone maker will lead a tree-planting initiative in Madagascar and track it using distributed ledger technology.

When the December 31, 2021 candle came to a close in Bitcoin, it didn’t just begin a new calendar year – it triggered a sell setup of epic proportions. Here is why the secular bull run in cryptocurrency could come to an end this year, and the first true bear market emerge. Bitcoin Yearly Chart Triggers First Ever Sell Setup You wouldn’t know it based on the recently bearish price action, but Bitcoin has been in an ongoing bull market since the second the genesis block was generated exactly thirteen years ago today. In the span of a normal childhood growing into a teenager, the price per coin has ballooned and bubbled its way from zero to $68,000 per BTC. Related Reading | Point & Figure: The Chart That Makes Bitcoin Support Cut And Dry The trajectory hasn’t always been up, as the price chart has shown, but the asset has been outrageously bullish nonetheless. Many indicators back up this theory, having never crossed into bear territory ever once since price was recorded. For example, the monthly MACD hasn’t made it below the zero line since 2015 despite the 2018-2019 “bear market.” The monthly Directional Movement Index had only a month-long temporary bear cross around mid-2015, but aside from that has never been bearish for an extended phase. However, the sequence of ups and downs experienced over the years, like any thirteen-year-old would experience, has resulted in a specific sell setup according to the TD Sequential. The tool is a market timing indicator developed by Thomas DeMark – which on other timeframes has been useful in calling reversals. The signal that makes you want to scream “nine!” | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com At thirteen years since the asset’s debut, the first ever TD9 sell setup has appeared on the BTCUSD yearly price chart. On the TradingView BTCUSD Index, price action began in 2010. Bear market years of 2014-2015 and 2018-2019 excluded, there have been exactly 9 candles with a higher open than the previous candles – triggering the sell setup. Theorizing The End Of The Secular Bull Run Despite the ominous signal, all is not lost for the current bull cycle – although it does give more credence to another bull market-ending pattern that could be developing. According to Elliott Wave Theory, markets grow in five waves. These five impulse waves are broken down into similarly-behaving sub-waves that alternate between uptrend and corrective phases. In the larger cycle, these corrective phases are what we call bear markets. In smaller timeframes, corrections often feel just as severe as the current sentiment would confirm. The good news and the bad news in one chart | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com Bitcoin appears to be well into its fifth impulse wave in the major motive wave cycle. The current count would suggest that the cryptocurrency is also within wave four of five sub-waves, hinting that the grand finale should unfold the in the year ahead. Related Reading | Bitcoin Falls Flat: Examining A Rare Bull Market Corrective Pattern If Bitcoin price does make it to $100,000 or higher, given the TD9 sell setup on the yearly, and the potential wave structure, this might be a sell signal worth taking. But when? Follow @TonySpilotroBTC on Twitter or join the TonyTradesBTC Telegram for exclusive daily market insights and technical analysis education. Please note: Content is educational and should not be considered investment advice. Featured image from iStockPhoto, Charts from TradingView.com

The Metaverse is changing the way we interact with one another, turning the two-dimensional world of the internet into a 3-D world where we can meet, communicate, engage, and even play games together. SPACE has taken this one step further with their own virtual world, which propels the user into colorful and friendly environments to meet, exhibit art, and hold our global conference. SPACE is set to become one of the biggest names in Metaverse technology, powered by their latest fundraising round. The innovative company has raised $7 million from a variety of tier-1 venture capital funds, including names like Coinfund, Dapper Labs (creators of NBA Top Shot and Flow), Digital Currency Group, Animoca Brands and Hof Capital. The Early Access Alpha version of SPACE has already onboarded over 10,000 early adopters and boasts integrations with over 100 different leading companies from the worlds of art, fashion and music. Go to destination for commerce and social pursuits SPACE will be the destination for new virtual worlds bringing visitors to engage in both social and work-based pursuits, an area for brands and users to mingle and collaborate, with exhibitions, showrooms, stores and hang-out areas. The Founder of SPACE, Batis Samadian said, “As the metaverse continues to gain mass adoption and becomes a place where a lot of people meet up to socialize, a natural evolution is commerce, which is what Space is focused on. Users will want to be able to view shows, buy items, sell items, and engage with digital goods within the metaverse. Space is building the Shopify for the metaverse to enable creators to sell their digital items in a turn-key fashion and allow users to purchase it.” Polygon Studios is keen on backing projects like Space. According to Polygon’s founder, Sandeep Nailwal “The race is on for the few players who will bring the future of work and commerce to web3, and the SPACE team is one of the most promising ones to be leaders in building the commerce virtual world.” The future is bright and not just for gaming Metaverse worlds like Axie Infinity and Sandbox, with leaders like SPACE backing the commerce world inside the Metaverse, the possibilities are endless.    

Ariane Capital, a traditional family office involved in the cryptocurrency market since 2014, is launching an ARBA SPIN, a certificate actively managed with a long-term directional objective. The fund mixes the fundamental analysis of the crypto with the ability to seize opportunities identified within for best returns. Over the past two years, the crypto industry gained mainstream attention and mass adoption, and traditional financial institutions increasingly started seeking exposure to this new asset class as well. (Image Source) With demand for crypto assets evolving, Ariane Capital noted that its clients have been seeking out long-term directional exposure, and to cater to this rising demand, the firm launched ARBA SPIN to offer absolute performance. The ARBA SPIN yielded +12.5% in its first month after launch and in a bear market. Ariane Capital attributes this performance to the “alpha generator qualities of the management team, who were able to identify several significant opportunities.” Despite being a conservative family office, it has been seeing “growing demand” from its clients, said Benjamin Guez, co-founder of the multi-family office Ariane Capital, in an interview. The fund applies a risk management methodology with existing tools such as options or futures. “The market is now aware of the underlying assets’ volatility and wishes to have a dedicated risk allocation given the strong potential of the crypto asset class in this universe,” Guez said. Being Early and Strong Ariane Capital, one of the very few operators in the European financial market, already has its arbitrate fund ARBA FUND available, whose objective is to be decorrelated from the market. It was the first regulated and structured arbitrage fund on the market. During the downturn of May last year, where the crypto market reported losses of more than 50%, the ARBA Fund had a monthly performance of 0.12%. But as the crypto sector evolves and continues to gain adoption, arbitrage gaps and opportunities are shrinking, resulting in a 15% return in 2021 compared to 2020’s performance of +41.75%. The technology-focused family office, Ariane Capital, got into crypto at an early stage about eight years back. At the time, the cryptocurrency sector was still opaque and new, and it took a few years for the firm to open a bank account and offer liquidity to its clients. The firm has since then gathered a team of financial market professionals and experienced fund managers specializing in a proper risk management approach to offer services ranging from legal structuring to the opening of depositories. It now also has the internal capability to analyze the crypto universe, invest in it, and support its development. Being early in the game means, “it allowed us to be ahead of and in sync with the whole crypto universe,” said Guez.  

Alright, so this is going to sound dumb, and probably is dumb, but I thought I'd ask anyway. Say I've got $1000 to blow and I'm already investing in the bigger coins, why not take a chance and put $2 into 500 random altcoins that no ones talking about? The reason I ask is because…
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submitted by /u/ItsTurko [link] [comments]

Massive milestone for one of the largest projects in crypto. Currently growing at around 9% a month, Brave is already 1/4 the user base of Firefox, and is on it's way to the mainstream. With a dEx and wallet implemented right into the browser, and with self serve ads, and Brave Search ad integration coming…
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submitted by /u/RedEagle_MGN [link] [comments]

This week marks week 5 for CoinQuest! The play-to-earn crypto games I've come across didn't get me excited, so I'm building the game that I would want to play myself. The game is hosted on xDai, and every week the top players get airdropped prizes, with updates coming in daily, come stop by and leave…
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