Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has shared some sage advice for traders feeling the blues of the crypto bear market: Focus on the tech rather than the price. The Ethereum co-founder made the recommendation in response to a Dec. 3 post from self-described crypto investor CoinMamba, echoing what many crypto investors are likely feeling at the moment. After 9 years in crypto I’m kinda exhausted. I want to move on and do something different with my life. Tired of all these scammers and fraudsters.. — CoinMamba (@coinmamba) December 3, 2022 "After 9 years in crypto I’m kinda exhausted. I want to …

Altcoin originally meant “Bitcoin alternative” because, in the early stages of cryptocurrency development, every blockchain-based currency was seen as a sort of Bitcoin (BTC) knockoff. Cryptocurrencies back then were mainly used for payments, such as Litecoin (LTC), XRP (XRP) and Peercoin (PPC). Altcoin was used as a catchall term for cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. That’s changed since 2011. With the emergence of more than 20,000 cryptocurrencies, each linked to different types of crypto projects and tokens. We have also seen the dexterity of coins stretch across sectors of public chains, decentralized finance (DeFi), layer 2, decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), stablecoins …

The United States equities markets shrugged off the hotter-than-expected labor data on Dec. 2 and recovered sharply from their intraday low. This suggests that market observers believe the Federal Reserve may not change its stance of slowing the pace of rate hikes because of the latest jobs data. Although the FTX crisis broke the positive correlation between the US equities markets and Bitcoin (BTC), the recent strength in the equities markets shows a risk-on sentiment. This could be favorable for the cryptocurrency space and may attract dip buyers. The broader crypto recovery may pick up steam after more clarity emerges …

Are margin and futures trading risky tools? While investors find margin trading and futures very attractive because of their potential returns, they should be cautious and consider all the risks before adopting them. Risks associated with margin trading Crypto margin trading is riskier than standard trading because of the leverage component, which may lose the investor more money than they held initially. Especially considering that cryptocurrencies are very volatile and unpredictable assets, the investor may have to provide extra funds to the collateral to avoid being forced to sell. Investors start paying interest on the loan they took up to …

On Nov. 18, Grayscale, the asset manager running the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) fund, released a statement detailing the security of its digital assets products and affirming that it won’t share its proof of reserves with customers. “Due to recent events, investors are understandably inquiring deeper into their crypto investments,” the statement begins, which is quite the understatement following the implosion of FTX and the inquiry into Sam Bankman-Fried’s questionable leadership. In no time, the question on everyone’s lips became clear. Will Grayscale be next? The answer is that it’s unlikely. And that’s largely because the people at the top, …

Bitcoin (BTC) is a dynamic monetary asset with the potential of being both — a commodity and a currency. For instance, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified BTC as a commodity, whereas El Salvador made Bitcoin a legal tender in 2021. So, does this make BTC a store of value or a medium of exchange? It can do both — On one hand, BTC can be added to treasuries as an inflationary hedge. On the other hand, it could also serve the retail purpose of paying for routine expenses. Almost over a decade ago, the first person to utilize …

The fall of the FTX crypto exchange forced many to reconsider their overall approach to investments — starting from self-custody to verifying the on-chain existence of funds. This shift in approach was driven primarily by the lack of trust crypto investors have in the entrepreneurs after being duped by FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF). FTX crashed after SBF and his accomplices were caught secretly reinvesting users' funds, resulting in the misplacement of at least $1 billion of client funds. Efforts to regain investor trust saw competing crypto exchanges proactively flaunting their proof-of-reserves to confirm users' funds' existence. However, …

Welcome to Finance Redefined, your weekly dose of essential decentralized finance (DeFi) insights — a newsletter crafted to bring you significant developments over the last week. The FTX contagion that started in the second week of November is still haunting various crypto protocols in the DeFi ecosystem. The latest to fall prey to the contagion includes the Solana-based decentralized exchange (DEX) Serum, of which Alameda and FTX were backers. Another DeFi crypto trading firm Auros Global missed its principal repayment on a 2,400 Wrapped Ether (wETH) DeFi loan. Looking at some other key news in the DeFi ecosystem, popular DEX …

The reality is that blockchain technology can still deliver substantial benefits, particularly within the fine arts. And for those who have been paying attention, 2022 has been a year of incredible normalization for nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Simply put, major institutions across various sectors have dipped their toes into Web3. In November, Instagram announced that creators would soon have the functionality to make and sell NFTs. Apple similarly announced in September that NFTs could be sold in its App Store. Put together, that’s 3.5 billion people (2 billion from Instagram and 1.5 billion from the App Store). Although each of these …

On Dec. 2, the United States dollar index (DXY), an index that measures the dollar's strength against a basket of top foreign currencies, reached 104.40 which was the lowest level seen in 5 months. To recap, the U.S. dollar's weight against the basket of top foreign currencies grew by 19.6% in 2022 until late September as investors looked for protection against the impact of a hawkish Federal Reserve and, more recently, the rising energy costs and effect of high inflation. The U.S. dollar's retreat may have been an interim correction to neutralize its "overbought" condition, as the 114.60 peak was …

Non-farm payrolls in the United States rose by 263,000 in November, exceeding economists’ expectations of an increase of 200,000. Analysts believe that the numbers remain hot and do not allow much scope for the Federal Reserve to slow down its aggressive rate hikes. This is contrary to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks delivered at the Brookings Institution where he said that the central bank could reduce the pace of rate hikes “as soon as December.” That triggered a sharp rally in risk assets. After the latest jobs report, the market participants will closely watch the Fed’s comments and decision in …

The Former CEO of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried, known also as SBF, has seemingly begun to embark on an apology tour to redeem his image a month after the sudden implosion of FTX, which revealed the exchange’s improper use of customer and investor funds. OnNov 30, Bankman-Fried made his first live public appearance since the collapse of FTX — answering a number of questions during the DealBook Summit in New York. In the interview, Bankman-Fried claimed to have “unknowingly commingled funds” between Alameda and customer funds at FTX. He shared: “I unknowingly commingled funds. [...] I was frankly surprised by how …