In the summer of 2019, the 10-year minus 3-month yield curve inverted for the first time in 13 years. During the time of the inversion, Bitcoin’s price hit all-time highs for the year. The previous inversion in 2006 was followed shortly thereafter by the global economic crisis of 2008. On Jan. 3rd 2020, United States President Donald Trump ordered the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani by drone strike. The Iranian government retaliated on Jan. 8th by launching missiles at two American bases in Iraq located near Baghdad. Throughout the Iran-U.S. conflict, Bitcoin’s price spiked upward by 21%, from just …

Bitcoin (BTC) investors who are waiting for a price dip to even $6,000 have “missed” their opportunity already, veteran trader Peter Brandt says. In a market discussion with Cointelegraph on Jan. 17, the 40-year market stalwart said that contrary to what some believe, BTC/USD has already hit its floor. Brandt: “The weak hands are out” “They all now want to sit and buy a break back to $6,000 or $5,000 and they’ve missed the bottom — and during that bottom, I think you had a lot of people accumulate with strong hands,” he summarized. Brandt continued: “The weak hands are …

Short-video sharing app TikTok has recorded its first viral Bitcoin (BTC)-related video as the firm’s owner reportedly launched a blockchain venture. Posted by TikTok personality The Wolf of Bitcoins, the video depicts a room in a house apparently equipped with dozens of cryptocurrency mining hardware units. The video displays a short caption, “this is why GPU prices went up,” and has a number of Bitcoin-related tags like “Bitcoin,” “explain Bitcoin” and “Bitcoin mining.” Allegedly first appearance of Bitcoin on TikTok feed At the time of this writing, the TikTok has amassed 1.2 million views and over 109,000 likes on the …

Tel Aviv-based media outlet BLOCKTV announced details of a tokenized rewards system to incentivize sources to share exclusive news tips. This comes after BLOCKTV revealed that its native token, BLTV, would be listed on the Bittrex Global exchange on Nov. 21. BLOCKTV CEO Aviram Elad told Cointelegraph: “We see the BLTV token as a solution to fix a broken business model in the media industry. The token aims to empower an upcoming token economy that combines content creators, advertisers, and consumers.” BLTV is an ERC20 token that will be offered to publishers, journalists, advertisers, sources and viewers. It forms the …

In the last few decades, South Korea has been among the fastest developing countries in the world. It is currently the planet’s third-largest crypto economy, after the United States and Japan. Cointelegraph traveled to Korea to meet a new generation of crypto entrepreneurs who are building the future of blockchain. Among the people we talked to were representatives of established firms — such as crypto investment funds Hashed and Kakao’s blockchain subsidiary GroundX — but also common Korean investors who still see Bitcoin as a path toward a better life. Despite strict regulation on initial coin offerings and cryptocurrency exchanges, …

In the latest episode of “Coffee and Crypto,” Cointelegraph’s head of editorial Olivia Capozzalo and head of news Molly Jane Zuckerman have discussed the biggest headlines in the crypto world — armed with steaming cappuccinos. The cappucci-news In the video, Capozzalo and Zuckerman have a packed agenda. First, they make sense of the news that the United States Federal Reserve has started developing a 24/7 system for real-time payments — sparking endless questions and comparisons to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ripple’s XRP. Zuckerman says: “I hear the words ‘real-time payment and settlement system’ and I think that can only be done …

In the most recent of a series of interviews, Cointelegraph head of news Molly Jane Zuckerman interviewed Bitcoin (BTC) himself, with the help of the animators behind the “Bitcoin and Friends” series, in a video published on YouTube on July 24. Should Nakamoto’s identity be revealed? During the interview, Bitcoin said that he hopes the real identity of his creator — Satoshi Nakamoto — will never be revealed. He declared: “I hope that the true identity of my dad is actually never revealed. I think considering the nature of cryptocurrencies, and it being decentralized and all. An anonymous team of …

When people outside of crypto think of John McAfee, they think computers, cybersecurity, anti-virus software. But in the world of crypto and blockchain, you think of a yacht in tropical waters, passionate — and sometimes, admittedly, inebriated — tweets on tech and crypto... and an enviable amount of partying. When I called McAfee to talk on record, he was sitting at a table outside a cafe in Cuba with palm trees and patches of blue sky behind him. We talked about McAfee’s presidential campaign in the United States, his relationship with the U.S. government, cryptocurrency mass adoption and why he’s …

Some things never change, like the Megalithic Temples built in Malta over 5,000 years ago. These days, however, that may be the only thing that remains unchanged in Malta. With a population of just under half a million and being mostly famous as a destination for European teenagers to study English during their summer vacation, Malta has recently become a star on the crypto map. Having already had a positive experience hosting online gambling companies, which makes up a very significant portion (13%) of Malta’s GDP, the island is now turning its head toward the world of crypto in an …

Ethereum (ETH)-based decentralized video streaming startup Livepeer announced that it raised $8 million from institutional investors in its Series A funding round in a Medium post published on June 17. Per the announcement, the startup will use the newly acquired resources to support the further development of the Livepeer protocol, network, software and ecosystem to further adoption. The round was reportedly led by venture capital firm Northzone, which was also one of the first investors in Spotify. Other participants in the round purportedly include Digital Currency Group, Libertus, Collaborative Fund, Notation Capital, Compound, North Island, Coinfund, Haivision and StakeZero. Furthermore, …

The former CEO and chairman of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, has announced he is considering an independent run in the forthcoming 2020 United States presidential elections, in a tweet posted on Jan. 27. “I love our country, and I am seriously considering running for president as a centrist independent,” he wrote — prompting a spate of critical responses, with most commentators arguing that an independent candidacy would diminish the likelihood of a successful, unified Democratic alternative to a second Trump presidential term. For commentators in the crypto space, a Schultz run would present a complex picture. In a transcript of Starbucks’ …

The Litecoin Foundation will sponsor an event of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts organization, according to an announcement published Dec. 26. In the statement, the foundation said that it has become the “Official Cryptocurrency Partner” of the UFC light heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson. The Litecoin Foundation stated that the sponsorship is part of its effort to expand the adoption of digital currencies, saying: “With brands and institutions continuing to push into cryptocurrency and blockchain, this is yet another signal of this technology moving closer towards the mainstream.” Litecoin (LTC) was released in …