Informing the company’s shareholders and future potential investors, Boyaa said it will buy mainly Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) on regulated and licensed trading platforms in the coming year.

• The purchases will be financed using cash reserves derived from the Group activities both in Hong Kong and internationally and will be executed at its discretion, taking into account the current market conditions. The Group essentially consists of Boyaa Interactive Limited and its subsidiaries.
• According to the official press release, the move aligns with the intention of shaping Boyaa’s future business strategy within the Web3 space.
• Despite earmarking the $5 million budget for cryptocurrency purchases, the company reminded its investors and shareholders that the digital asset market is volatile in the near term.
• Boyaa also advised them to exercise caution while dealing with its shares.

“The Company will strictly comply with the relevant management and control policies on cryptocurrencies in relevant jurisdictions with regard to the purchases of cryptocurrencies.”

• Boyaa Interactive is an established developer and operator of chess and card games in Hong Kong.
• The latest allocation depicted the increasing inclination to venture into Web3 in the city-state owing to favorable policies fostering the digital asset sector.
• Hong Kong has demonstrated a serious commitment to advancing Web3 prompting more than 150 such firms to establish operations in Cyberport – a digital hub launched by the government to promote innovation.

The post This E-Gaming Company Earmarks $5M for Bitcoin, Ether Purchases appeared first on CryptoPotato.

This marks the agency’s first delay on the latest wave of Bitcoin spot ETF applications, possibly indicating a similar short-term fate for rival applicants.

Questions For the Public

In its Friday letter, the SEC said it seeks public comment on BZX’s application, which would list the very first Bitcoin spot ETF on a U.S.-regulated exchange.

“Institution of proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change,” wrote the SEC. “Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved.”

This is a STANDARD delay letter. There's some confusion but only the first few paragraphs of this letter are written by the SEC and its very standardized. The rest is just a copy paste of the 19b-4 application written by CBOE (& Ark/21Shares) There isnt much to read into here IMO pic.twitter.com/7HOMA6kLK4

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) August 11, 2023

Firstly, the agency asked for the public’s thoughts on whether the proposed ETF would be protected from “fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices,” and whether the Bitcoin market is inherently susceptible to manipulation. This issue is central to the agency’s hesitancy in approving a Bitcoin spot ETF until this point.

In the past, ETF applicants have attempted to form surveillance-sharing agreements with the CME Bitcoin Futures market to meet the SEC’s market monitoring needs. However, between ARK’s previous applications as well as those from Grayscale, the SEC has contended that this market cannot meet its benchmark.

That’s what its second public question pertains to: “Do commenters agree with the Exchange that the CME, on which CME Bitcoin Futures trade, represents a regulated market of significant size related to spot bitcoin?” asked the SEC. The regulator specifically wishes to know it someone attempting to manipulate the Bitcoin market would necessarily have to trade on the CME.

The SEC’s last question touched on Coinbase – America’s largest spot Bitcoin exchange, and ARK’s newly preferred surveillance sharing partner. 8 rival applicants have named the same exchange in their most recent filings, following the footsteps of both Fidelity and BlackRock.

“Do commenters agree with the Exchange’s assertion that such an agreement with Coinbase would be “helpful in detecting, investigating, and deterring fraud and manipulation in the Commodity-Based Trust Shares”?” wrote the SEC.

Next Deadlines

After ARK, the next approval deadlines for rival Bitcoin spot ETFs are in early September, including BlackRock’s – but decisions on those applications can be similarly delayed.

ARK’s true final deadline at which the SEC can delay its decision no longer is on January 10. Given its virtually identical structure to competitors, ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood expects that its approval will mean that of rival firms as well – and likely all at the same time.

Before that, Grayscale expects to receive a ruling in its lawsuit with the SEC by the end of September. Bloomberg ETF analysts predict that this lawsuit is still the most likely route to spot ETF approval.

The post SEC Delays Approval Of Ark’s Revised Bitcoin ETF For Public Comment appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The agency has previously accused the platform of offering services to American clients without obtaining the necessary registration.

The exchange shuttered its US operations and filed for bankruptcy protection shortly after the regulator targeted it.

• As reported by Bloomberg, Bittrex and its non-US subsidiary will part with $24 million to settle allegations that it violated several securities rules while providing cryptocurrency services to American users.
• The company’s co-founder William Shihara called the settlement plan “a good outcome,” raising hopes that it could help the US authorities create a balance between safeguarding investors and promoting innovation.
• Bittrex and Shihara have been coping with severe issues over the past several months caused by the hostile stance of the SEC.
• The firm terminated operations in the States at the end of March this year, citing the nation’s “regulatory and economic environment.” Nonetheless, it assured that “customer funds are safe, here and ready for retrieval.”
• A few weeks later, the exchange received Wells Notice from the SEC. The latter alleged that Bittrex operated as an unregistered exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse for securities. 
• The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US approximately three weeks after the SEC’s attack. According to the filing, it had more than 100,000 creditors, with estimated liabilities and assets both worth between $500 million and $1 billion. 

The post Embattled Crypto Exchange to Pay a $24 Million Penalty to Settle With SEC (Report) appeared first on CryptoPotato.

The cryptocurrency project, which saw the light of day in July, sparked huge controversy due to its eye-scanning requirements. Other countries, including Kenya and Germany, have also raised concerns on the matter.

Argentina Joining the Club

The aforementioned agency said it will investigate how the Worldcoin Foundation in Argentina processes personal data and whether the crypto project hides any risks to the privacy of consumers. 

“The investigation will carefully analyze the processes and practices in relation to the collection, storage, and use of personal data to identify possible effects on the rights recognized by Law 25,326.

In addition, appropriate steps will be taken to address any identified issues and ensure that the company complies with security and privacy standards,” the disclosure reads.

Worldcoin’s popularity has recently surged in the South American country due to the procedure of scanning the face and iris of multiple individuals in different regions, such as Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Mendoza, in exchange for certain economic compensations.

The AAIP outlined that the entity responsible for obtaining such biometric information should be registered with the relevant regulator. It added that users should also know who collects that sensitive data, where it gets stored, and what is the processing time.

“Cases like this make visible the need to strengthen the current legal framework regarding the Protection of Personal Data, as has been raised repeatedly and in various national and international forums by the AAIP,” the agency concluded.

Wolrdcoin’s Birth and the Triggered Controversy

After years of trials and fundraisers, Worldcoin finally launched its native token WLD at the end of July. The project, led by the CEO of OpenAI – Sam Altman, presents itself as an open-source protocol “designed to become the world’s largest human identity and financial network, giving ownership to everyone.”

The controversy behind it comes from Worldcoin’s intention to register new users and distribute certain crypto assets to those who scan their iris through a ball-like device called an “orb.”

Somewhat expectedly, the project’s idea, which reminds the plot of a sci-fi movie, received a wave of criticism from numerous agencies. The government of Kenya, for example, suspended all Worldcoin activities and the distribution of WLD due to safety and privacy concerns. 

“Appropriate action will be taken on any natural or juristic person who furthers, aids, abets or otherwise engages in or is connected with the activities afore-described,” the Kenyan politician Kithure Kindiki stated.

The regulators of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have also questioned the legality of Worldcoin’s biometric data collection.

Privacy experts have warned that personal data, such as iris identification, is quite sensitive and could be breached by criminals. This, in turn, could lead to identity theft or stalking. 

The post Another Country Begins Investigating Sam Altman’s Worldcoin appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Base was already live for testing by developers but launched for the public officially with more than 100 apps and service providers on August 9th.

Base’s Activity Spike

Base blockchain went live on mainnet this week, in a move that was touted as the beginning of a new era of public companies running their own distributed networks. The positive reception was evident in terms of the total value bridged to Base, which surpassed $150 million on the day of the official launch. The figure currently stands near $173 million.

Data compiled by Dune Analytics further recorded over 136k daily active users on August 10th. Judging by the pace, the number seems to be heading towards a new peak today.

Meanwhile, the crypto data platform CryptoRank ranked Base in the 4th position in daily TPS among layer-2 solutions despite trailing miles behind already established players such as zkSync Era, Arbitrum, and Optimism.

Initially unveiled in February, Coinbase heralded Base as a “bridge” for new crypto users into the crypto economy. However, unlike its peer Ethereum scaling networks such as Optimism, Arbitrum, or Polygon, the San Francisco-based crypto exchange confirmed having no immediate plans to release an accompanying token for Base.

TVL Uptrend

Part of Base’s success can be attributed to its soft launch, from the developer-only release in July to mainnet a month later. Prior to the public launch, Base witnessed substantial usage through the BALD memecoin.

However, it is a new social network project called friend.tech is the reason behind the heightened activity. Since the launch of friend.tech, data suggest that there have been more than 7,000 users, and over 81,000 transactions have been completed with a transaction volume of 2,778 ETH on the layer-2 blockchain.

As such, the total value of assets locked (TVL) on Base soared above $161 million during the same period, representing a nearly 81% increase over the past week alone.

The post Coinbase’s Base Notches 4th Rank in Daily TPS Among Layer 2 Solutions: Data appeared first on CryptoPotato.

According to a tweet by Dessislava Laneva, a research analyst at crypto data platform Kaiko, by the end of July, Kraken had claimed 47% of the market depth in the US for the top 10 altcoins.

Kraken Claims Largest U.S. Market Depth for Altcoins

As of January 2023, Kraken had only a 39% share of the market depth of altcoins, while Coinbase had 45%. At the same time, Binance.US, the American arm of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, had a market share of 7% while six other platforms collectively accounted for 9%.

However, data analyzed by Kaiko researchers found that Kraken’s market share has increased to 47%, leaving Coinbase with 41%, Binance.US with 1%, and the remaining exchanges with 10%. This means that Kraken now has a greater ability to absorb large market orders without significantly impacting the price of the altcoin in question.

Besides Kraken’s growing market depth, the exchange’s market share among platforms supporting USD deposits has also increased recently. Data from The Block’s USD Support Exchange Volume dashboard shows Kraken’s market share rose from 14.78% in January to 21.1% in July. The growth is significant, as the platform had a share of 8.3% last August.

Coinbase Faces challenges

A spokesperson for Kraken told The Block that the exchange’s recent performance is due to the launch of its advanced trading platform Kraken Pro and the enhancement of several offerings. The representative said the exchange’s share of total volumes had hit an 18-month high since unveiling the new platform.

Kraken’s share of the EUR spot market has soared to 53% from 35%, and the exchange’s AUD spot market has also multiplied by six times in the past months, per the spokesperson.

While Kraken records significant growth in its digital asset market share, Coinbase has faced regulatory challenges in recent months, possibly due to the decline in its volumes. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase in early June over several allegations, including operations as an unregistered broker, securities exchange, and clearing agency.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently revealed that the Commission instructed the exchange to halt the trading of all altcoins as they were securities and violated federal laws.

The post Kraken Dethroned Coinbase as Most Liquid US Exchange for Altcoins in July: Data appeared first on CryptoPotato.

Such investors should provide a snapshot of their possessions by the beginning of September and must hold their tokens on-chain.

• The team behind the decentralized platform revealed that it will airdrop 5,160,960 Evers to eligible XRP holders. Investors will be required to send a snapshot of their stash (stored directly on-chain and not through an exchange) until September 1.

“Because we’ll launch on the Hooks sidechain and because that sidechain will include a burn2mint, we need to snapshot the XRP Ledger before the Hooks sidechain goes live,” Evernode explained.

• The token distribution will mainly focus on investors with balances of up to 50,000 XRP. Those owning more will need to hold it in separate accounts to benefit from the contribution.
• Evernode promised to give further details once there is more information about the launch of the Hooks sidechain.
• Subsequently, the team reminded that the airdrop is a gift, meaning not all XRP holders will be granted portions of the new token:

“While we’ll use our best endeavors, we don’t in any way promise/warrant that you’ll receive any particular number of Evers. For any reason – or for no reason – we may decide not to proceed with the airdrop in this manner, or at all.”

The post Here is How XRP Holders Can Apply for Evernode’s (Evers) Airdrop appeared first on CryptoPotato.

$SHIB has gained 14% since Monday, sparking speculation that the token may be gearing up for an extended surge.

Meanwhile, the brand-new Shibie Coin ($SHIBIE), a $SHIB and Barbie hybrid, has also seen significant traction in its ongoing presale phase.

Shiba Inu Technicals Point to Continued Price Momentum

The world’s second-largest meme coin is showing signs of life again, with $SHIB posting three bullish daily closes in a row and heading for a fourth.

Looking at the price chart, $SHIB is now nearing a critical resistance level around $0.0000105, which was tapped on August 5 – resulting in a sharp sell-off.

However, according to data from CoinMarketCap, the trading volume of $SHIB reached $306 million in the past 24 hours, making it the 11^th most-traded cryptocurrency globally.

Many $SHIB holders believe this increased volume could help the price break through the nearby resistance zone on its second attempt, setting the stage for an extended uptrend.

Adding more fuel to the bullish hypothesis is the fact that $SHIB broke through the crucial 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) on the daily time frame.

This EMA is often used as a proxy for a token’s long-term trend, so the fact that $SHIB is now trading above it could signal that sentiment is shifting in favor of bulls.

Numerous Fundamental Factors Drive Shiba Inu’s Momentum

A combination of fundamental factors is driving the recent double-digit gains for $SHIB.

Firstly, the upcoming launch of Shibarium, Shiba Inu’s layer-2 scaling solution, has renewed interest in the $SHIB token.

Shibarium aims to reduce network fees and enable faster transactions, meaning its launch will be a significant milestone for the ecosystem.

Additionally, $SHIB received an adoption boost after BitPay announced full support for bill payment services using the token.

Unsurprisingly, this integration with a major payment processor adds much-needed utility to the token.

Finally, the broader optimism in the crypto market, led by speculation around a spot Bitcoin ETF approval and interest rate decreases, has fueled optimism for meme coins like $SHIB.

With the token’s technicals and fundamentals aligning, $SHIB holders are increasingly confident that the token can sustain its current bullish momentum.

Shiba Inu-Inspired Shibie Coin Gaining Presale Momentum Ahead of Upcoming DEX Launch

While Shiba Inu sees a resurgence in interest, the new meme coin Shibie Coin ($SHIBIE) is also capturing the attention of investors.

The presale for $SHIBIE has been gaining traction ahead of the token’s official launch, having now raised $320,000 in just two weeks.

This early momentum has Shibie Coin on track to reach its reduced hard cap of $500,000 in the coming days.

Significantly, Shibie Coin’s team has also decided to burn 50% of the initial presale token allocation once it concludes – a deflationary tactic that could bolster $SHIBIE’s value if demand continues at its current pace.

With just three days remaining in Shibie Coin’s presale, interest is building around this new token.

Many in the Shibie Coin Telegram channel speculate that the token could see dramatic price movements post-launch if the current momentum continues.

Moreover, given that the developers have reserved 20% of the total $SHIBIE supply for DEX liquidity, this should help avoid significant price volatility in the days following the token’s listing.

Given its low market cap at launch and unique branding, $SHIBIE positions itself as a token to watch in the coming days.

Visit Shibie Coin Presale

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It all started on Monday when the primary cryptocurrency dumped by several hundred dollars after the quiet weekend to a weekly low of $28,700. However, the bulls intercepted the move and pushed the asset north. In fact, what followed was among the most notable leg-ups registered in the past few months, as bitcoin shot up to over $30,000 by Wednesday.

This became its highest price tag since July 23. The asset tried to remain above $30,000 but failed by the end of the day and the subsequent rejection pushed it back south to its current price tag of around $29,500. Interestingly, even the CPI numbers that came out earlier this week didn’t result in enhanced volatility, which used to be the case up until a few months ago.

Some altcoins, though, have performed a lot better than BTC for the same 7-day period. Such is the case with Solana, Chainlink, TONCOIN, HBAR, and OKB. All of these have surged by somewhere between 6 and 9% on a weekly scale.

Nevertheless, Shiba Inu has taken the main stage from the larger-cap alts. SHIB has soared by more than 16% since last Friday and trades above $0.00001.

Rollbit Coin has emerged as the top performer within the same timeframe, having added over 76% of value. This has helped RLB find a place within the top 100 largest digital assets by market cap.

Market Data

Market Cap: $1,218B | 24H Vol: $29B | BTC Dominance: 47%

BTC: $29,435 (+0.7%) | ETH: $1,850 (+0.4%) | BNB: $240 (-0.7%)

This Week’s Crypto Headlines You Can’t Miss

Here’s How Much of ETH’s Total Supply is Held in the Top 10 Addresses. It turns out that ETH’s supply held by the 10 largest wallets has been increasing considerably since 2018. In fact, it increased by a whopping 27% throughout the period.

Is Tether Really the 11th Biggest Bitcoin Holder? CryptoQuant Chips In. Recently, analysts were suggesting that Tether is the 11th biggest Bitcoin holder. However, the prominent data analytics firm CryptoQuant took it to Twitter to question these statements and provide additional clarifications.

Ripple (XRP) Lead Lawyer Slams SEC’s Appeal Request, Reveals Important Date. Stuart Alderoty – the Chief Legal Officer at Ripple Labs – slammed SEC’s appeal attempt and also revealed a timeline as to when users can expect the company to take action against the most recent filings.

The US SEC Might Approve Numerous Spot BTC ETFs at the Same Time, Cathie Wood Thinks. According to Cathie Wood, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission might approve a number of spot Bitcoin ETFs at the same time. Wood is exposed to the market through a number of investments.

El Salvador Becomes the Latest Country Where Binance Secures Regulatory Approval. El Salvador – the Bitcoin-friendly nation – became the latest country to approve and provide regulatory approval for the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchange – Binance.

Federal Reserve Launches New Program to Oversee Crypto Activities of Banks. The US Federal Reserve is launching a new program. It aims to help the institution oversee various cryptocurrency activities that banks carry out.

The post Bitcoin Returns to $29K After Failing at $30K, Shiba Inu Pumps 16% in 7 Days: This Week’s Crypto Recap appeared first on CryptoPotato.

JUST IN – If You Had Invested $100 In #Bitcoin When Peter From ‘Family Guy’ Said “#Bitcoin” For The First Time, You’d Have $6,637.08 today a profit of 6,537.08% pic.twitter.com/p75UlynUVM

— Simply Bitcoin (@SimplyBitcoinTV) August 10, 2023

A $100 investment in Bitcoin the day Peter Griffin said, “Bitcoin” on Family Guy would be worth $6,637.08 at today’s exchange rate. Apparently, the hit television cartoon mentioned Bitcoin very early on (Feb 2016.)

Here’s BTC’s ROI Since Simpsons did it in 2020

Asking Google Bard if “Simpsons did it first,” the large language model chatbot said:

“In the Season 31 episode “Frinkcoin”, Professor Frink creates a cryptocurrency called Frinkcoin. The episode aired in 2020, and some people believe that it is a prediction of the rise of Bitcoin.”

At first glance, it appears that Simpsons did it long after Family Guy on this one, Feb 23, 2020.

But still, any Family Guy fans who became Bitcoin investors with $100 that day could exchange their sats for $2,966 today and bag a 2,900% ROI in under four years.

Family Guy’s Bitcoin mention was remarkably early. Simpsons’ was later, but it also included a very subtle easter egg joking that the Simpsons creators know who Satoshi Nakamoto is.

Ok, Bard, When did the Simpsons Predict Bitcoin?

Bard did also mention a wild fan theory that the Simpsons predicted Bitcoin in early 1997:

“The Simpsons have been known for their many predictions over the years, and some people believe that they also predicted the rise of Bitcoin. In the Season 8 episode “My Sister, My Sitter”, which aired in 1997, there is a scene where Bart and Lisa are walking past a store called “Crypto Barn”. The sign in the window of the store says ‘A place for codes’.”

There was no Bitcoin to invest in back in 1997, but one of Bitcoin’s early supporters, Adam Back, proposed hash cash that year. More recently, Back has been very bullish about the Bitcoin price over the next year.

Bard Had Some Precautions for Investors Regarding Bitcoin

“Some people have joked that Peter Griffin is a financial genius, as his suggestion to invest in Bitcoin has turned out to be very profitable. However, it is important to note that Bitcoin is a volatile investment, and its value can fluctuate wildly. It is never a good idea to invest more money than you can afford to lose.”

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