Digital asset exchange Huobi Global has spun out a new investment arm focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 projects, further highlighting venture capital interest in the blockchain economy. Dubbed Ivy Blocks, the new investment arm has over $1 billion in crypto assets under management to deploy, a spokesperson for Huobi confirmed. These funds have been earmarked for “identifying and investing in promising blockchain projects,” the company said. In addition to financing, Ivy Blocks will offer various services to selected projects, including an asset management platform, a new blockchain incubator and a dedicated research arm. The firm’s asset management department …

May was an incredibly challenging month for the cryptocurrency market as the majority of tokens booked heavy losses as a bear market was confirmed, but not every project dropped back to pre-bull market lows. Chain (XCN), a protocol designed to help organizations launch their own blockchain network or connect with other more established networks, has managed to rally more than 120% since May 19. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that since hitting a low of $0.0712 on May 11, XCN has reversed course to hit a record-high at $0.176 on May 31. The three reasons for the …

As the fall of Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) may have a noticeable short-term impact on the decision-making of both retail and institutional investors, it doesn’t pose a risk to the larger crypto ecosystem, according to Jun Du, co-founder of Huobi Global. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Du explained that the collapse of Terra will affect the ecosystem by slowing down investor interest in crypto as an asset class. However, Du noted that this will only be a short-term effect. In the long term, the exchange co-founder explained that crypto like Bitcoin’s (BTC) demand as a hedge against fiat inflation …

The recent crashes in stock and cryptocurrency markets have provided yet another chance to observe the better return opportunities of crypto versus stocks, according to several industry executives. This week, the crypto market saw one of its biggest sell-offs ever, with the total market capitalization plummeting more than 30% from $1.8 trillion on May 4 to as low as $1.2 trillion on Thursday. Bitcoin (BTC), the biggest digital asset by market capitalization, tumbled below $27,000 for the first time since late 2020, losing 30% of value over the same period. But the market instability has not been exclusive to crypto. …

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar introduced a new regulatory package for distributed ledger technology (DLT) service providers. The document elaborates on the responsibilities of crypto businesses in regards to threats of market manipulation and insider trading. On April 27, the government of Gibraltar published the 10th Regulatory Principle of the country's financial services regulation. The details are revealed in a Guidance Note, provided by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC), the chief finance regulator of the territory. The regulation, crafted by a special working group that included both government officials and industry experts, sets operational guidelines for preventing market …

The TON Foundation, an organization building on the Telegram-initiated blockchain project, The Open Network (TON), has chosen the TONcoin Fund as its official ecosystem fund. The TONcoin Fund announced on Monday the launch of an ecosystem fund focusing on supporting TON-based projects, securing an initial collective commitment of up to $250 million from major firms within the industry. The fund has earned the title of the TON Foundation’s official incubation partner, meaning that they will support the fund’s portfolio investments. The fund’s contributors included firms like Huobi Incubator, Kucoin Ventures, MEXC Pioneer Fund, 3Commas Capital, the blockchain startup Orbs, TON …

Huobi Tech, a public listed fund manager in Hong Kong, plans to launch a cryptocurrency tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF) for retail investors. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed company has reportedly submitted a proposal to the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) for its crypto ETF. The new ETF product will be focused on retail investors with assets less than HK$8 million (US$1 million), reported South China Morning Post. The vice president of the firm Romeo Wang said stressed that a Hong Kong-regulated crypto ETF would offer better security to investors and also noted that they are actively engaged with the SFC …

Hong Kong-listed virtual asset platform Huobi Technology Holdings has launched a cryptocurrency over-the-counter (OTC) service, the firm announced to Cointelegraph on Wednesday. Listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) since 2016, Huobi Technology was originally known as Pantronics Holdings, an electronic product maker founded back in 1990. Huobi Technology has been actively moving into the cryptocurrency industry in recent years but operates independently of Huobi Group, the entity that owns the Huobi Global cryptocurrency exchange. The two companies share some shareholders but they are two separate legal entities, a spokesperson for Huobi told Cointelegraph. According …

Even though Ether (ETH) price bounced over 20% from the $2,300 low on Feb. 22, derivatives data shows that investors are still cautious. To date, Ether's price is down 24% for the year, and key overhead resistances lay ahead. Ethereum's most pressing issue has been high network transaction fees and investors are increasingly worried that this will remain an issue even after the network integrates its long-awaited upgrades. For example, the 7-day network average transaction fee is still above $18, while the network value locked in smart contracts (TVL) decreased 25% to $111 billion between Jan. 1 and Feb. 27. …

As the total cryptocurrency market capitalization dipped below $2 trillion last week, major crypto execs have been increasingly talking about a potential continuous bear market or a "crypto winter." Contrary to the expectations of many in the crypto market, Bitcoin (BTC) failed to surge above $68,000 in 2021 and continued dropping below $40,000 in early 2022, causing significant losses for big crypto investors like MicroStrategy. However, a possible crypto winter could be pretty helpful for the industry by giving a boost in improving the technology, according to Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain. Lower cryptocurrency prices could contribute to …

Another major player in the cryptocurrency world is forecasting a dismal year for Bitcoin (BTC) in 2022. Following the Federal Reserve's and other central banks' tightening of liquidity measures, Huobi Research believes that BTC will enter a bear market. On the brighter side, decentralized finance (DeFi) will continue to expand and adapt, with DAO governance eventually becoming a major driver of activity on the chain. Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) prices plummeted on Thursday night on the cryptocurrency market, shedding about $150 billion from the market. Over the last 24 hours, Bitcoin has lost roughly 7.9% of its value to as …

Cryptocurrency mining has become a hot topic of conversation over the past couple of years due to its lucrative nature and the impact the industry has on the environment. The emergence of Web3 and the increased presence of Internet of Things (IoT) devices has led to a new class of low-cost mining protocols with low-power network technology. These include LPWAN or LoRaWAN which are designed to transmit low bit rate data over long distances. One such protocol that has been gaining traction in recent months is MXC, a Web3 infrastructure protocol designed to provide geolocation-based LPWAN coverage to IoT devices …