Category: Cryptocurrency News

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As the eagerly awaited Bitcoin halving event approaches in April, cryptocurrency analysts are engaging in spirited discussions about the potential trajectory of the leading cryptocurrency’s price. Offering his insights, Michaël van de Poppe, the founder and CEO of MN Trading, has shared his predictions, outlining a period of consolidation before potential growth, with a particular emphasis on the anticipated outperformance of certain altcoins. Related Reading: Avalanche To Unleash 9.5 Million Tokens, Traders Brace For Impact Bullish Long-Term Outlook Amidst Short-Term Consolidation Van de Poppe envisions a phase of consolidation for Bitcoin in the upcoming months, with a suggested price range oscillating between $48,000 and $50,000 leading up to the halving event. My general theory is that #Bitcoin is consolidating in the coming months. Pre-Halving a final run towards resistance at $48-50K, after that another correction to $36-38K and from there #Altcoins to continue outperforming Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/sYiqpg3T93 — Michaël van de Poppe (@CryptoMichNL) February 3, 2024 However, he cautiously warns of the possibility of a further correction, potentially driving the price down to a range of $36,000 to $38,000 before witnessing a rebound. This aligns with his previous statements expressing a keen interest in accumulating more Bitcoin within this specified range. Despite these short-term predictions of consolidation, Van de Poppe maintains a bullish stance on Bitcoin’s long-term prospects. He boldly projects a potential future price of $300,000, echoing the prevailing optimistic sentiment within the cryptocurrency market. This optimistic outlook is not unique to Van de Poppe, as other analysts also express similar enthusiasm, with price predictions ranging from $170,000 to a staggering $1 million post-halving. Bitcoin slightly below the $43K level today. Chart: TradingView.com In an intriguing twist, Van de Poppe suggests that while Bitcoin experiences this period of consolidation, certain altcoins, namely Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA), and Ethereum (ETH), may potentially “outshine” Bitcoin. This implies an anticipation of their growth rates surpassing those of Bitcoin. Notably, Dogecoin (DOGE) has already displayed bullish momentum, seemingly validating these projections. Bitcoin Price At A Glance Bitcoin is currently trading at approximately $43,097, and its next move is crucial. If it breaks above $43,375, it might surge further, finding resistance at higher levels. On the downside, there’s a solid support around $42,940, backed by the 50-Day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) suggests a neutral market, hovering around 54, without a clear direction. Traders are closely watching for a potential breakout above $43,375, which could trigger a bullish rally, or a drop below $42,950, indicating a bearish trend. The market is at a pivotal point, and significant price action could follow. Related Reading: Dogecoin Orbit Expands: Over 890,000 New Addresses Join DOGE Community Traders Remain Upbeat On Much-Awaited Bull Cycle The current Bitcoin market operates within a unique landscape, shaped by the recent launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the looming halving event. While the possibility of sideways movement exists, traders remain hopeful for the initiation of the long-awaited bull cycle. As the crypto community eagerly awaits the unfolding of these predictions, the dynamics of the market continue to evolve, keeping investors on the edge of their seats in anticipation of the upcoming events. Featured image from Adobe Stock, chart from TradingView

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The Kaspa (KAS) blockchain is a decentralized, open-source, and scalable Layer-1 solution often referred to as “Bitcoin 2.0” or “the next Bitcoin.” However, Kaspa is unique in its own way despite functioning very similarly to Bitcoin. Just like Bitcoin, Kaspa is a proof of work (PoW) cryptocurrency, but unlike other traditional blockchains, Kaspa implemented the GHOSTDAG protocol. This protocol is unique in the fact that it does not have orphan blocks created in parallel. Rather, it allows them to coexist and orders them in consensus. This makes Kaspa the first of its kind to do this, with the blockDAG (Block Directed Acyclic Graph) protocol being a generalization of Nakamoto’s consensus. The Founder And The Team Behind The Kaspa (KAS) Network The founder of Kaspa is Yonatan Sompolinsky, a Ph.D. in Computer Science at Havard University and a member of the Maximal extractable value (MEV) research team. He was also in Ethereum’s whitepaper and rumored to be in Ripple’s whitepaper as well. Related Reading: How To Buy And Trade BRC-20 Tokens On The Bitcoin Network Sompolinsky had direct input in creating Ethereum’s technology design, having designed the GHOSTDAG protocol earlier. Interestingly, the founder’s 2013 paper on the GHOSTDAG protocol is cited in Ethereum’s whitepaper. The development team is made up of very talented individuals such as Cryptography Researcher Elichai Turkel, Doctoral student Shai Wyborski, Developer Ori Newman, Master of Computer Science Michael Sutton, and Developer Mike Zak. They have all contributed to the implementation and ongoing development of the Kaspa blockchain network. Differences And Similarities Between Kaspa (KAS) And Bitcoin (BTC) At the very base of its technology, Kaspa is very similar to the Bitcoin network in the way it’s structured. Some of these similarities are outlined below: Utility: Bitcoin is a Layer 1 blockchain solution that functions as a store of value, often referred to as digital gold, functioning as a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency. Likewise, Kaspa is a Layer 1 solution purported to be a store of value and functioning as peer-to-peer cash. Related Reading: What Are The Top 8 DeFi And Web3 Wallets To Use In Crypto? Limited Total supply: Bitcoin has a maximum total supply of 21 million BTC to be ever mined, meaning new coins can never be created after all of these coins are mined. In a similar fashion, Kaspa has a maximum total supply of 28.7 billion coins, with a little over 22.5 billion in circulation.  Halving Events: Both Kaspa and Bitcoin undergo halving, which slashes the block rewards for miners in half. However, while Bitcoin undergoes a halving event every four years, Kaspa uses a Chromatic Halving Schedule, “meaning that rewards smoothly decrease every month in a quantitative manner that results in a 50% emission reduction per annum,” according to its website.  Decentralization/Proof of work: Both blockchains employ a decentralized proof of work mechanism, meaning that the network is secured by miners who solve complex mathematical equations to mine blocks and confirm transactions. Unfortunately, this also means that both networks are energy-intensive and require a lot of power to run.  One major difference between both networks is that Kaspa solves the issue of scalability that continues to plague Bitcoin. This means that while both networks use a proof of work mechanism, Kaspa is able to carry out transactions at a faster rate as well as cheaper fees. How Does Kaspa The Blockchain Solve Trilemma Issues? The Blockchain Trilemma refers to the three critical aspects of blockchain technology, which are security, scalability, and decentralization. This trilemma continues to plague leading blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and they continue to battle these issues. This is because, in order to ensure security and decentralization, something had to give, and in both cases, it was scalability. Related Reading: Crypto After Death: How Do You Pass On Your Investments To Your Loved Ones? However, Kaspa, on the other hand, is one of the few blockchains to solve the blockchain trilemma, as it is decentralized, scalable, and secured. It solves the blockchain trilemma issues through its integration of proof of work (PoW) and the blockDAG structure. Image source How Does The Kaspa GhostDAG Protocol Work? Most blockchains that digitally process transactions do so in the form of blocks, hence the name blockchain. Kaspa, however, deviates from this because it does not store digital transactions in blocks. Instead, it does so using a complex mathematical structure called a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph).  In a DAG (Directed Acyclic Graph), vertices are present instead of blocks. So, instead of referring to different units as forming blocks, each different vertice forms edges when connected to each other. The blockchain then relies on present transactions to validate and confirm transactions that come after it.  Kaspa does not discard previous blocks of information; therefore, it is more secure and scalable. Its mining relies on kHeavyHash, which is a form of optical mining algorithm that is energy efficient and works well with mining equipment such as FPGAs and GPUs. Prominent Features Of Kaspa (KAS) Efficient Proof of Wook: Kaspa is a one-of-a-kind blockchain that has managed to maintain its Proof of Work mechanism while also solving the blockchain trilemma. To put this in perspective, blockchains such as Ethereum have had to move from Proof of Work (PoW) to Proof of Stake (PoS) in an effort to solve their scalability issues and make them faster.  However, since Kaspa already solved the blockchain trilemma, this makes it highly scalable while maintaining a truly decentralized system. Its utilization of the optical-mining-ready kHeavyHash algorithm also helps to ensure the consensus and security of the network. Related Reading: How to Buy, Sell, and Trade ERC-20 Tokens on the Ethereum Network Instant Transaction Confirmation: Kaspa was designed to be cheaper and faster than Bitcoin, where full confirmation of a transaction takes an average of 10 seconds, with each transaction visible to the network in one second. This is significant when compared to Bitcoin, which takes an average of 10 minutes to confirm a transaction. Security: When it comes to security, Kaspa did not just employ the same security principles and methodology as Bitcoin, it took it a step further as it replaced the SHA-256 PoW encryption with kHeavyHash, while inheriting all the security properties of SHA-256. Thus, its network is still secured by a robust network of decentralized volunteers (miners) who validate and sign transactions just like Bitcoin. Cheaper Fees: Not only does the Kaspa Blockchain network confirm transactions fast, but it is also significantly cheaper than Bitcoin. This is because the blockDAG network generates multiple blocks every second for posting transactions to the ledger, whereas Bitcoin generates one block every 10 minutes. Transaction fees on Kaspa cost less than a cent, while transaction fees on Bitcoin cost an average of $4 at the time of this publication. Scalability: Kaspa solves scalability issues with its blockDAG network’s ability to generate and confirm multiple blocks per second, as mentioned above. But perhaps the most interesting part of what Kaspa does is that it is able to confirm so many blocks (vertices) per second without altering or giving up its decentralized nature. What Is KAS Coin And What Are Its Uses? KAS coin is the native token of the Kaspa blockchain, whose main objective is to power the whole network. It is used to pay for transaction fees and other forms of developer’s fees, and it is also used as an incentive to reward miners. Its block rates are rapid and promise swift rewards, as well as offering profitable mining with lower hash rate requirements compared to Bitcoin. The Tokenomics of Kaspa (KAS) Kaspa’s native cryptocurrency, KAS, has a maximum or total supply of 28.7 billion coins that are not pre-mined. This means all of the tokens in circulation have been free-mined by miners on the blockchain. It has a circulating supply of 22.5 billion at the time of publication, and estimates are that with the current halving model, the last KAS coin will be mined in 2037.  Related Reading: How To Mine Bitcoin And Crypto | Guide The Kaspa network utilizes an open crowdfunding and voting governance model, which means that KAS holders can contribute to the network for development, marketing initiatives, education, etc.  This sense of shared responsibility and ownership motivates the community to come together and work toward collective goals.  KAS Price History And Progress Kaspa launched its mainnet along with its token two years ago, on November 7, 2021. Initially, the price of its native token, KAS, remained stagnant until July 2022, when it pumped from $0.0001840 to $0.0005890. It then traded sideways for months before going on another rally, triggering a 694% increase in price. Related Reading: When Is the Next BTC Halving Date? Bitcoin Halving Guide Following this, the KAS price rose to almost $0.01 per coin in just a year after its launch in November 2022. The price dipped a bit and started off trading 2023 with $0.005278 per coin. KAS would then go on to hit a new all-time high of $0.154 in November 2023, exactly two years from the month it launched. Kaspa (KAS) is up 61,331% since its all-time low of $0.00017105 on May 26, 2022, according to Coingecko. This is significant because the surge to its new all-time highs took place during a bitter bear market, causing the coin to outperform the rest of the crypto market. This immense growth in such a short time has led to some of Kaspa’s investors referring to it as ‘Bitcoin 2.0’ or ‘The next Bitcoin.’ Its similarities with Bitcoin have also fueled the belief that it is the next Bitcoin. With a market cap of $2.38 billion, Kaspa is currently the 38th-largest cryptocurrency in the space and the 7th-largest Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain. Conclusion Kaspa (KAS) solving the blockchain trilemma with the ability to be scalable and still be decentralized gives it an edge over blockchains such as Bitcoin. Its native KAS coin also has important use cases like powering the entire Kaspa blockchain protocol and being used for transaction fees. This ensures that the coin is always in demand as the Kaspa network usage grows. Related Reading: Learn How To Trade Bitcoin Additionally, features like fast transactions, top-notch security due to its encryption with kHeavyHash, and a robust network of decentralized volunteers (miners) who validate and sign transactions make it an appealing choice for investors looking for an alternative to Bitcoin while enjoying the security and decentralization of Bitcoin. Featured image from IQ.wiki

BRC-20 tokens open doors for developers to build their own decentralized applications (dApps) with unique economies on the Bitcoin network. This fosters community engagement through internal currencies, and attracting investment through innovative token sale structures. BRC-20 tokens are fungible tokens built on the Bitcoin network using the Ordinals protocol. It also utilizes inscriptions containing JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) data to facilitate the deployment of token contracts, minting tokens, and transferring tokens. Presently, the BRC-20 token standard offers the ability to create a BRC-20 token using the deploy function, mint a specified quantity of BRC-20 tokens using the mint function, and transfer a designated amount of BRC-20 tokens through the transfer function. BRC-20 and ERC-20 share some similar characteristics and functional concepts, but they are not identical due to their different underlying blockchains and implementation details. One of the differences is that BRC-20 tokens operate on the Bitcoin blockchain, while ERC-20 tokens reside on the Ethereum blockchain. This leads to differences in technical implementations and transaction fees. Related Reading: How To Buy And Trade BRC-20 Tokens On The Bitcoin Network Similar to ERC-20 tokens, BRC-20 tokens are fungible, meaning they can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis with equal value. They can be created, transferred, and traded on the Bitcoin network using decentralized marketplaces like Magic Eden with compatible wallets and decentralized exchanges that support the BRC-20 standard. BRC-20 tokens breathe vitality into the Bitcoin network, acting as programmable extensions that expand the scope beyond basic transfers. They empower the Bitcoin network by enabling the development of DApps, fostering communities, and facilitating ownership of real-world assets. This dynamic frontier presents exciting opportunities for engagement, incentives, and innovation.  However, it is essential to navigate the technical intricacies and embrace the evolving infrastructure. BRC-20 tokens, still a work in progress, possess tremendous potential to reshape the future of Bitcoin, unveiling a multitude of tokenized possibilities along the way. Now, let’s dive into the exciting world of building your own BRC-20 tokens! As we discussed, platforms like Magic Eden offer a gateway to creating and trading these digital assets. Creating BRC-20 Tokens On The Bitcoin Network Creating BRC-20 tokens involves defining the token’s parameters, such as its name, symbol, and total supply, as well as any additional functionality you want to incorporate, such as token burning or minting restrictions. Once the smart contract is written, it needs to be compiled into bytecode and deployed onto the Bitcoin blockchain using the platform’s provided tools. This deployment process usually involves paying gas fees to execute the necessary transactions. Platforms like Magic Eden enable users to create their own BRC-20 Tokens. Related Reading: Bitcoin Spot ETFs Approved After 14 Years- The Journey So Far First, visit the Magic Eden homepage, and click on “Connect Wallet” at the top right corner, as shown in the image below: For the best wallets to use for BRC-20 tokens on the Bitcoin network, check here. To initiate the creation of your BRC-20 token, it is essential to deploy it first. Adhere to the following instructions to proceed: Next, click on the “Inscribe” button. (The Inscribe button pops up after you click on the “Mint” icon situated towards the top left of the screen). Next, Click on the “BRC-20 ” tab at the top of the screen. Then, follow these instructions:   Ticker: Select a four-letter phrase to serve as the unique identifier for your token. For instance, widely recognized BRC-20 tokens have utilized tickers like ORDI or OXBT. Establish the maximum quantity of tokens that will be available for minting. Specify the highest number of tokens that can be minted in a single transaction. Select the desired parameters and click on “Next”. Choose the desired Bitcoin Network Fee from the options available, such as Low, Medium, or High. After making your selection, proceed by clicking the “Inscribe” button. (Ensure that the chosen ticker is not already deployed to avoid transaction failure. Magic Eden will automatically check this unless instructed otherwise). Related Reading: What Are The Top 8 DeFi And Web3 Wallets To Use In Crypto? Now, wait for the transaction to be confirmed by the Bitcoin network. Confirmation times may vary.After the confirmation, check your wallet. Upon successful confirmation, you will receive a “Deploy” inscription, signifying that you can proceed to mint your tokens. The provided example illustrates a “Deploy” inscription within the Xverse wallet. Minting Your BRC-20 Token Having successfully deployed your BRC20 token, follow these instructions to mint it. Navigate back to the ‘Inscribe Ordinals’ modal located on the Magic Eden homepage. Within the modal, click on the “BRC-20 Mint”  tab to proceed. Enter the four-letter phrase that you deployed earlier, indicate the desired quantity of tokens you intend to mint, and specify the number of mint inscriptions you wish to generate. Related Reading: How To Create And Mint Your Own NFTs On The Ethereum Network Note: The maximum number you can mint per transaction has to be the same with the value set in the “Limit per mint” during the deploy process. Now, click on the “Next” button and select the network fee. After selecting the desired fee rate, click the “Inscribe” button. In the following example, 63 BRC-20 tokens are being minted in three batches of 21 each. A set of mint transaction links will be provided. Please note that confirming the mint transactions once again may take some time. After confirmation, you will receive the mint inscriptions in your connected wallet. Congratulations, you have successfully created your first BRC-20 Token! Conclusion BRC-20 tokens offer fungible tokenization capabilities within the Bitcoin network, enabling a range of applications and use cases. As the blockchain industry progresses, both NFTs and BRC-20 tokens assume crucial roles in shaping the trajectory of digital ownership and decentralized finance (DeFi). Related Reading: Learn How To Trade Bitcoin BRC-20 tokens introduce fungible tokenization capabilities within the Bitcoin network, providing the ability to create and exchange interchangeable tokens. This opens up a wide array of possibilities for various applications and use cases within the blockchain industry. As the blockchain ecosystem continues to advance, both NFTs and BRC-20 tokens play pivotal roles in shaping the direction of digital ownership and decentralized finance, driving innovation, and paving the way for a more inclusive and decentralized financial landscape.

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