Bitcoin (BTC) has topped the crypto charts in a survey from down under. According to 2,000 Australians surveyed by the Independent Reserve Cryptocurrency Index (IRCI), Bitcoin is number one for brand recognition, ownership and overall sentiment. Bitcoin with the most brand awareness, and by a long shot. https://t.co/LqhYPXe3p8 — Stephan Livera (@stephanlivera) November 28, 2022 In the report, while 92% of Australians have heard of cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin enjoys the highest levels of brand awareness. Accordingly, 90.80% of respondents had heard about Bitcoin. Stephan Livera, a popular Bitcoin podcaster from Australia, shed light on the figures. Livera told Cointelegraph, “Bitcoin continues …

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is moving large amounts of cryptocurrency as part of its proof-of-reserve (PoR) audits, according to the CEO. Binance sent 127,351 Bitcoin (BTC), or more than $2 billion, to an unknown wallet on Nov. 28, Whale Alert reported on Monday. According to on-chain data, the transaction occurred at 10:00 am UTC, costing Binance just a 0.000026 BTC ($0.42) fee. The huge Bitcoin transaction has immediately triggered some FUD in the community, with many noting that Binance has moved an amount that is an entire fortune in one single transaction. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao subsequently took to Twitter to …

The Japanese messaging giant Line has decided to shut down its cryptocurrency exchange business amid the ongoing crypto winter. Line-owned crypto exchange Bitfront officially announced on Nov. 27 a plan to completely close down the platform by March 2023. According to the statement, the closure was driven by the continued cryptocurrency bear market and other issues in the crypto industry. Despite the exchange’s closure, Line will still continue to run its other blockchain ventures, including the Line blockchain ecosystem and Link (LN) token, the announcement notes, stating: “Despite our efforts to overcome the challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry, we have …

The Bahamas Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs Ryan Pinder has confirmed that the collapsed crypto exchange FTX is the focus of an "active and ongoing" investigation by authorities from the Caribbean nation. In a national statement that was delivered live on the Facebook page of the Office of the Prime Minister on Nov. 27, Pinder explained the "affairs of FTX Digital Markets" are under scrutiny from both "civil and criminal authorities" and Bahamian authorities are working with "a number of specialists and experts and will continue to do so as the need arises." "The Securities Commission, our …

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has seemingly given the cold shoulder to a $600,000 monument of him in goat form — which was created as part of a bizarre crypto marketing stunt. Delivered to Tesla’s Austin headquarters on Nov. 26, the 30-foot, 12,000-pound metal statue of Elon Musk was part of a publicity stunt by the co-founders of the memecoin Elon Goat Token (EGT). The statue features the head of Elon Musk on the body of a goat that is riding a rocket. The statue also sees Musk wearing a dog collar with a Dogecoin (DOGE) token attached. We’re very proud …

An inside joke about the “insolvency” of Wrapped Ethereum (wETH) over the weekend has forced influencers to explain it was just a “shitpost” after members of the community took it as real. The wETH insolvency FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) seemingly began to make the rounds on Nov. 26, with false rumors alleging that wETH isn’t backed 1:1 by Ether (ETH) and is insolvent. Blockchain developer and contributor to the ERC-721A token standard “cygaar” was one of the first to spread the joke, before confirming in a subsequent post that it was in fact a “shitpost” to see who was …

However, the crypto space is notoriously fickle, and the collapse of once-established companies such as Celsius and FTX are stark examples of how people can lose billions of dollars in crypto assets almost overnight. For this reason, celebrity influencers should be thoroughly educated on a crypto product before promoting it. With so much at stake, this is a point that shouldn’t be overlooked by anyone in the industry. Because of these huge risks, regulators are now asking questions regarding the ethics of celebrities using their considerable pull to draw people into crypto. And they’re not stopping at that; more jurisdictions …

Think back to the communities you’ve been genuinely excited to be a part of throughout your life. It’s likely these were groups formed on the basis of shared interests, right? That’s because we feel a sense of belonging when we bond with others over any particular thing we feel a particular way about. For example, I love games, and I never get tired of exploring or fostering communities where I can meet other gamers. That’s how I know that the current GameFi space is no breeding ground for gamers like myself and my enthusiastic peers: It’s a breeding ground for …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been trading in a tight range since Thanksgiving Nov. 24, as traders are uncertain about the next directional move. Usually, in a bear market, analysts tend to become uber-bearish and project targets that tend to scare away investors. The failure of Bitcoin to start a strong recovery has given rise to several bearish targets, which extend up to $6,000 on the downside. Although anything is possible in a bear market, traders who have a long-term view could try to accumulate fundamentally strong coins in several tranches. Because a bottom will only be confirmed in hindsight and trying …

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized monopoly in global financial payment systems and called for an independent and blockchain-based settlement network on Nov 24, speaking at the International AI Journey Conference in Moscow. During the event organized by Sberbank, the largest Russian bank and a major lender to the government, he stated: "The technology of digital currencies and blockchains can be used to create a new system of international settlements that will be much more convenient, absolutely safe for its users and, most importantly, will not depend on banks or interference by third countries. I am confident that something like this …

Many of the centralized cryptocurrency platforms that collapsed this year had something in common: a young, outspoken and cocky leader. Each gained outsized influence not by virtue of outsized intellect or talent but because of their piles of money and large Twitter followings. And each time, misplaced trust in their abilities resulted in disastrous consequences. If crypto wants to avoid similar catastrophes in the future, it’s time for us to rearrange our leadership priorities. We need to ditch the cults of personality. The theater of crypto on Twitter Before FTX collapsed, founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) had garnered a reputation as …

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is growing fast. Total value locked, a measure of money managed by DeFi protocols, has grown from $10 billion to a little more than $40 billion over the last two years after peaking at $180 billion. The elephant in the room? More than $10 billion was lost to hacks and exploits in 2021 alone. Feeding that elephant: Today’s smart contract programming languages fail to provide adequate features to create and manage assets — also known as “tokens.” For DeFi to become mainstream, programming languages must provide asset-oriented features to make DeFi smart contract development more secure and …