Blockchain education platform Longhash has released research that it claims debunks the recent single-whale theory of the 2017 Bitcoin (BTC) bull run. On Nov. 18, researchers at crypto analytics firm Longhash announced that they have calculated a metric called “Tether Purchasing Power,” which shows more insight into the question of whether Tether (USDT) was used to manipulate the cryptocurrency markets. Tether’s ability to manipulate the markets is when BTC’s price falls According to Longhash, the metric measures how much BTC could be bought with the entire Tether supply at any given time, pointing out that the higher the ratio, the …

Stablecoin Tether (USDT) is clearly the preference among investors but will not see a retail use case, Samson Mow says. The Blockstream CSO, who was speaking at Cointelegraph’s ongoing BlockShow conference on Nov. 15, noted that Tether’s first-mover advantage placed it in another league from the increasing number of other stablecoins on the market. Mow: Tether won’t be big in retail Mow made the comments during a panel dubbed “The progress of stablecoins — if any? Can I use it yet?” It featured representatives of several stablecoin companies, along with Chia Hock Lai, president of the Singapore FinTech Association. “Tether …

Cryptocurrency exchange OKEx has launched Bitcoin (BTC) futures contracts that are margined with the Tether (USDT) stablecoin. OKEx announced the new offering in a press release on Nov. 14. OKEx first announced its intention to launch USDT-settled futures trading with up to 100x leverage at the end of October. Now, after conducting a simulation that began on Nov. 5, the exchange listed the BTC/USDT offering on its trading platform. The exchange previously said that offering a stablecoin-based derivatives contract will make it simpler and more efficient for traders to navigate the market and calculate risk. OKEx CEO Jay Hao commented: …

EToroX, the digital asset platform of social trading platform eToro, announced the listing of privacy coin Dash and seven stablecoins in a press release published on Nov. 12. Per the release, eToroX users can now also trade stablecoins backed by the Turkish Lira (TRYX), Polish Zloty (PLNX), South African Rand (ZARX) and Hong Kong Dollar (HKDX) alongside U.S. dollar-backed tokens USDC and Tether (USDT). The addition brings the number of assets tradeable on the cryptocurrency exchange up to 26. Doron Rosenblum, managing director at eToroX, commented: “We see the addition of USDC and USDT as a way for eToroX to …

Leading stablecoin operator Tether has announced it will support crypto podcaster Peter McCormack in a lawsuit against self-proclaimed Bitcoin (BTC) creator Craig Wright. General counsel for Tether and cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, Stuart Hoegner, revealed on Nov. 8 that Tether also rejects Wright’s claims of being Satoshi Nakamoto. He explained: “Wright has had myriad opportunities to prove that he is Satoshi and has not definitively done so.” As Cointelegraph reported in April, Bitcoin SV (BSV) proponent Craig Wright filed a libel claim against McCormack over him accusing Wright of fraud and falsely claiming to be Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin. …

Tether has issued a response to a recently surfaced paper that alleges that a single whale manipulated the market to cause 2017’s bull run in Bitcoin (BTC) price. The response Tether, which is behind the dollar-backed stablecoin USDT, published the response on the company’s website on Nov. 7, an announcement that crypto exchange and sister company Bitfinex echoed on the same day. In no uncertain terms, Tether denied the findings of the coming paper, even accusing the authors — John M. Griffin and Amin Shams — of unethical motivations: “To obtain publication, Griffin and Shams have released a weakened yet …

Just a single player or entity was allegedly responsible for Bitcoin’s historic price surge, as suggested by a recently updated academic paper titled “Is Bitcoin Really Un-Tethered?” Originally released in the summer of last year, the study claimed that major Bitcoin (BTC) price manipulation occurred in winter 2017, prompting top cryptocurrencies to reach their all-time highs. The Tether (USDT) stablecoin and its issuer Bitfinex played a key role in the alleged hoax, the researchers also argued. The newer version of the paper maintains the same assumption, but additionally asserts that a single whale controlled the price movement. Bitfinex denies all …

Bitcoin (BTC) price highs in 2017 were not the result of a single trader on an exchange, the CEO of payment company Circle claims. In a series of tweets on Nov. 4, Jeremy Allaire disputed recent research which claimed Bitcoin’s bull run to $20,000 was the result of efforts by a single wallet holder. Circle CEO: Research fails to understand exchanges The findings are currently featuring as part of the $1.4 trillion lawsuit against stablecoin Tether (USDT). Its issuance, researchers argue, coincided with Bitcoin price jumps. For Allaire, however, the idea that one Tether trader engaged in manipulation on an …

The world’s 3rd largest crypto exchange OKEx has announced it will be listing Tezos (XTZ) later this week. In an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Nov. 4, OKeX said that XTZ deposits will be available as of 09.000 UTC on Nov. 6, with XTZ spot trading against Bitcoin (BTC) and Tether (USDT) to launch at 9.00 UTC on Nov. 7. XTZ withdrawals will be functional from 09.00 UTC on Nov. 8. Driving participation Tezos — founded by former Morgan Stanley analyst Arthur Breitman and Kathleen Breitman — is a multi-purpose blockchain platform that supports decentralized applications and smart contracts. The …

Researchers have escalated their claims about market manipulation in winter 2017, now claiming that a single whale was responsible for Bitcoin’s historic price surge. The development was reported by Bloomberg on Nov. 4. John M. Griffin and Amin Shams — of the universities of Texas and Ohio respectively — have updated their previous research, which made the case that market misconduct was allegedly behind Bitcoin’s bull run to an all-time high of $20,000 in December 2017. “Clairvoyant market timing” or manipulation Griffin and Sham’s analysis, first published in a research paper in June 2018, had argued that transaction patterns on …

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex moved 1 .561 million Tether (USDT) from the Omni Protocol to the Liquid Bitcoin (BTC) sidechain. Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino announced the U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin’s protocol swap on Twitter on Nov. 2. The conversion increases the quantity of USDT available on the network after the stablecoin was first launched on the Liquid sidechain at the end of July. Ardoino said that the development will have a beneficial effect on the protocol: “Liquid sidechain has now more liquidity for atomic swaps and cross-exchange arbitrage.” A sidechain in rapid development In July, Liquid developer Blockstream launched a new tool …

OKEx, the world’s fifth-largest crypto exchange, announced on Oct. 29 plans to launch Tether (USDT) futures trading, featuring a linear contract with leverage of up to 100x. Stablecoin futures, the exchange said, offer a simpler and more efficient means to navigate the market, and could open the door for many new retail traders. Related: Bitfinex Cries Fraud as Crypto Capital Executive Indicted by US This news prompted a few murmurs. Stablecoin provider Tether, after all, has been the subject of some unsettling news stories, as Cointelegraph recently reported. Is USDT broken? Kevin Batteh, who serves as the Chamber of Digital …