The S&P 500 index (SPX) fell 19.4% and the Nasdaq nosedived 33.1% in 2022, recording the worst performance since 2008. The crypto markets also had a horrendous year with Bitcoin (BTC) falling roughly 65% in 2022. In comparison, the United States dollar, which is perceived to be a safe haven, rallied nearly 9%, its best year since 2015. There are several green shoots visible for the cryptocurrency sector for 2023. The U.S. dollar index (DXY), which usually moves in inverse correlation with Bitcoin may have topped out. This increases the likelihood that select cryptocurrencies may be close to forming a …

2022 proved to be a fruitful year for Ethereum Name Service, with the platform recording 2.2 million registered domains despite unfavorable market conditions for the cryptocurrency space. According to the service, over 80 percent of the total ENS domains created since the project's inception were registered in 2022. Data from Dune Analytics shows that ENS has around 2.82 million names registered as of Jan. 2, with 630,340 owners of ENS domains. Happy New Year everyone! 2022 was an incredible year for ENS! Over 2.2m ENS names were registered in 2022 (that's 80% of ALL names created) If you're ready for …

Financial services providers in Hong Kong are already taking the first steps to provide services to retail investors, according to local reports. Brokers and fund managers in the region have reportedly asked for advice on licensing requirements ahead of new legislation. Lawmakers in Hong Kong passed an amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance (AMLO) in December 2022, which aligns with the region’s recent stance on broadening the possibility for crypto trading. The amendment introduces a new licensing scheme for virtual asset service providers, which will allow retail investors the ability to trade in virtual assets. Currently, virtual …

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared some bullishness for the year ahead, including reaching a new milestone for rollup scaling as per the Ethereum roadmap. The Ethereum developer also confirmed the rollout of the Ethereum Improvement Protocol (EIP) 4884 sometime in 2023, which had been removed as part of the upcoming Shanghai upgrade package set for March. Responding to a Dec. 31 post from former chief technology officer of Coinbase, Balaji Srinivasan, asking users what they were bullish for in 2023, Buterin said he was looking forward to reaching the “basic rollup scaling” milestone as outlined in the Ethereum roadmap. …

Liquid staking protocol Lido Finance appears to have benefited most from the Ethereum merge in September, with its total value locked (TVL) now sitting at the top position among other decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols. According to data from DeFiLlama, Lido’s liquid staking protocol now commands $5.9 billion in TVL, compared to MakerDAO's $5.89 billion and AAVE’s $3.7 billion. Lido now has the highest TVL of any DeFi protocol. pic.twitter.com/2xsM3lVGVl — Patrick | Dynamo DeFi (@Dynamo_Patrick) January 1, 2023 According to Lido Finance’s website, as at Jan. 2 had $5.8 billion Ether (ETH) staked. Meanwhile, there was around $23.2 million staked …

One of the original core developers behind Bitcoin (BTC), Luke Dashjr, claims to have lost “basically” all his BTC as a result of a hack that occurred just before the new year. In a Jan. 1 post on Twitter, the developer said the alleged hackers had somehow gained access to his PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) key, a common security method that uses two keys to gain access to encrypted information. In the thread, he shared a wallet address where some of the stolen BTC had been sent but did not reveal how much of his BTC was stolen in total. …

Futures and options let traders put down only a tiny portion of a trade’s value and bet that prices will go up or down to a certain point within a certain period. It can make traders' profits bigger because they can borrow more money to add to their positions, but it can also boost their losses much if the market moves against them. Even though the market for crypto derivatives is growing, the instruments and infrastructure that support it are not as developed as those in traditional financial markets. Next year will be the year that crypto derivatives reach a …

Play-to-earn gaming enabled by blockchain technology has grown exponentially over the few years. Gamers have embraced the opportunity to collect cryptocurrencies or nonfungible tokens ( NFTs ) that have been produced in blockchain-based games. Through the advent of this new technology, players have been able to generate income by selling in-game NFTs or earning cryptocurrency rewards, both of which can be exchanged for fiat cash. Because of this , according to data from Absolute Reports , the estimated value of the GameFi industry will grow to $2.8 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 20.4% over the …

As a millennial, it’s hard to say this, but boomers are doing crypto better. They are taking research methods used in the traditional markets and applying them to crypto projects, according to a new report from Bybit and consumer research company Toluna. The report says that 34% of boomers spend “a few days” doing due diligence on a project before investing — 50% more than other generations. More concerning still, “64% of North American investors spend less than two hours or don’t DYOR at all.” Boomers are also more likely to focus their research on technical factors such as tokenomics, …

Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of the now-defunct FTX exchange, has denied moving funds tied to Alameda wallets, days after he was released on a $250 million bond. On Dec. 30, Fried tweeted to his 1.1 million followers, denying any involvement in the movement of funds from Alameda wallets. In response to the allegations that he may have been responsible for moving funds out of Alameda wallets, he shared: “None of these are me. I'm not and couldn't be moving any of those funds; I don't have access to them anymore.” None of these are me. I'm not and couldn't …

Mr. Park Mo, the vice president of Vidente, the largest shareholder of South Korean Cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb,was reportedly found dead in front of his home at 4 am, on the morning of Dec. 30. Prior to his death, Mr. Mo had been named as a primary suspect in an investigation launched by South Korean prosecutors for his alleged involvement in the embezzling funds at Bithumb-related companies, as well as, manipulating stock prices. In October 2021, the Financial Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into allegations made against Mr. Park Mo, which led to the …

Investors have faced a tumultuous year in 2022 as stocks, bonds, and the cryptocurrency sector have all witnessed sharp declines. As of Nov. 30, the performance of a traditional portfolio comprising 60% stocks and 40% bonds has been the worst since 1932, according to a report by Financial Times. The next big question troubling crypto investors is whether the pain in Bitcoin (BTC) is over or will the downtrend continue in 2023. Analysts seem to be divided in their opinion for the first quarter of the new year. While some expect a drop to $10,000 others anticipate a rally to …