Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has donated 36 Bitcoin (BTC) and $600,000 worth of Tether (USDT) to small businesses in El Salvador as part of a broader pledge to support economic development in neighborhoods that have struggled with gang-related violence. The funds are being distributed in the socially-deprived communities of Ilopango, Soyapango and Apopa, where gang violence and extortion of small business owners are the most common, Bitfinex announced Thursday. The donations, which will be funded through recipients’ Bitcoin wallets, including the state-sponsored Chivo wallet, will support environmentally-friendly business initiatives that employ local workers. In addition to funding the donations, Bitfinex’s parent …

Ether (ETH) price is up 16% since July 1 and has outperformed Bitcoin (BTC) in the last seven days. The move could be partially driven by investors clinging to their hopes that the Ethereum network transition to proof-of-stake (PoS) consen will be a bullish catalyst. The next steps for this smart contract involve the Merge, which was previously known as Eth2. The final trial on the Goerli test network is expected in July before the Ethereum mainnet gets the green light for its upgrade. Since Terra’s ecosystem collapsed in mid-May, Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) has increased and the flight-to-quality …

Unus Sed Leo (LEO) has not only survived the crypto market bloodbath in the first half of 2022 but has actually posted major gains, bucking the big crypto crash. LEO beats crypto kingpin Bitcoin LEO, a utility token used across the iFinex ecosystem, finished the first half of 2022 against Bitcoin at 32,793 satoshis, up almost 300%. The token also rallied 55% against the U.S. dollar in the same period, hitting $5.80 for the first time since February 2022. In contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), the top two crypto assets by market cap, fell by over 60% and 70%, …

Celsius’ lead investor BnkToTheFuture has outlined three proposals to save Celsius from bankruptcy while finding a good outcome for shareholders and depositors with funds stuck on the platform. Shared on Twitter by BnkToTheFuture CEO Simon Dixon on Thursday, the three distinct proposals include either two options of restructuring and relaunching Celsius or potentially co-investing in the platform alongside wealthy Bitcoin (BTC) whales. “Proposal #1: A restructuring to relaunch Celsius and allow depositors to benefit from any recovery through financial engineering.” “Proposal #2: A pool of the most influential whales in Bitcoin to co-invest with the community.” “Proposal #3: An operational …

Bitcoin (BTC) lost 3% in an hour and Ether (ETH) drifted toward $1,000 on June 30 as pessimism took control of crypto markets. Traders eye "sweep of lows" for BTC Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting $19,224 on Bitstamp during Asian trading, its lowest since June 19. A lack of momentum on upticks combined with a failure to reclaim critical support at the 200-week moving average set the scene for fresh weakness on Bitcoin. The largest cryptocurrency thus dived to the support area defined a day prior by Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe. In fresh …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been unable to restore the $24,000 support since Celsius, a popular staking and lending platform, paused withdrawals from its platform on June 13. A growing number of users believe Celsius mismanaged its funds following the collapse of the Anchor Protocol on the Terra (LUNA; now LUNC) ecosystem and rumors of its insolvency continue to circulate. An even larger issue emerged on June 14 after crypto venture capital firm Three Arrows Capital (3AC) reportedly lost $31.4 million through trading on Bitfinex. Furthermore, 3AC was a known investor in Terra, which experienced a 100% crash in late May. Unconfirmed …

Being in crypto is all about taking an intelligent view towards money. We know that Bitcoin (BTC) is the future, both as a store of value and also as a means of payment, as layer 2 solutions such as the Lightning Network begin to flourish. It is, therefore, vital that every cryptocurrency user makes sure that they always obtain the most competitive price for every service. While millions of crypto users convert fiat to crypto using a debit or credit card, this is by no means a low-cost choice. Paying the overhead: Converting fiat to crypto According to The Motley …

On a sun-splashed day in the Swiss Alps, the chief technology officer of Bitfinex and Tether, Paolo Ardoino, shed light on the Plan B Lugano strategy, Tether as an onramp into Bitcoin (BTC) and —crucially — his favorite pizza toppings. Fresh off the plane from Norway, where Ardoino attended an increasingly Bitcoiner-friendly event, the Oslo Freedom Forum, the Italian explained that, in contrast to the WEF,there was no “shilling” in Norway. Tether was invited to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum as the stablecoin is increasingly considered an “instrument of freedom.” Tether has been adopted by the Myanmar government while …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been unable to close above $32,000 for the past 28 days, frustrating bulls and pushing the Fear and Greed index to bearish levels below 10. Even with June 6’s small boost, the tech-heavy Nasdaq stock market index is down 24% year-to-date. Investors who keep a close eye on regulatory development were possibly scared after New York state made clear its intention to regulate the crypto industry, including Bitcoin mining. On June 2, New York Attorney General Attorney Letitia James issued an investor alert against "risky cryptocurrency investments," citing the assets' volatility. According to Cointelegraph, the attorney general …

The crypto market has been in decline over the past six months with its valuation dropping from over $3 trillion in November 2021 to $1.23 trillion in May 2022. Fears over persistently higher inflation, the Federal Reserve's hawkish response to it, and the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia prompted investors to limit their exposure to riskier assets. Also, their increasing appetite for the safe-havens, such as the U.S. dollar, weighed down demand for some of the top cryptocurrencies and U.S. equities. As a result, some digital assets, such as Dogecoin (DOGE) and Cardano (ADA), fell by more than 80% …

Tether (USDT) and Bitfinex chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino said that the Terra (LUNA) project was not intended to be a rug pull, but was simply “poorly designed.” Speaking on the Terra ecosystem’s market-shattering crash, Ardoino likened its algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) to a “castle of cards” that was due to fall at any time. Many in the crypto community have highlighted a long list of dubious comments and actions from beleaguered Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon that raise questions about his actions. It has also been reported that Kwon also worked on a previously failed algo-stablecoin project dubbed Basis …

Turkey is experiencing a resurgence in cryptocurrency interest as major crypto exchanges set foot in the transcontinental country. From demographics to offline marketing to currency depreciation, there is plenty of motivation for the 84 million Turkish people to sign up to the new exchanges. Bitfinex, among the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, recently announced its plans to expand into Turkey (see tweet). Coinbase reportedly set its sights on acquiring local exchange BtcTurk, while Binance is launching its first customer service center. Dünyanın önde gelen dijital varlık alım satım platformu Bitfinex çok yakında Türkiye'de. pic.twitter.com/bReVOyg1gU — Bitfinex TR (@BitfinexTR) April 24, 2022 …