Nodle Network, an IOTA (MIOTA) competitor, is in the process of migrating from Stellar (XLM) to its own blockchain network with the release of the Arcadia testnet. Nodle is a decentralized network provider that specializes in detecting and connecting the internet of things (IoT). It currently connects over five million active nodes with over 92 million detected devices. While Stellar has been able to handle Nodle’s heavy traffic of 1.3 million daily transactions to date, the company believes it needs to deploy its own blockchain to accommodate some of the advanced features envisioned in its whitepaper. Nodle’s blockchain architect, Eliott …

The Stellar Development Foundation has committed up to 2.5 million Lumens to six non-profit organizations to help out during the coronavirus crisis — and they’re calling on the community to help. The SDF will kick the initiative off by donating 100,000 XLM each to six charities, with the remaining funds used to match community contributions on a one-to-one basis throughout April. Strong balance sheet SDF CEO Denelle Dixon told Cointelegraph the Foundation was lucky enough to be in a strong financial position to be able to help: “We're in the fortunate position of having stability during this time, we have …

The coronavirus pandemic has only worsened this week and has engulfed almost the whole world. Several countries in Europe and the US have been the worst affected outside of China where the virus started. While the world attempts to tackle the spread of the virus by lockdowns, it is having a huge negative impact on the economy. In order to support the economy, the US announced a stimulus package of $2.2 trillion, which is the largest in history. Meanwhile, the Fed’s balance sheet continues to swell and has crossed $5 trillion in assets. While these efforts are a great morale …

This week saw huge selling in almost every asset class as panic gripped traders on the ever-spreading coronavirus cases. Cryptocurrencies were also not spared as they came under huge selling pressure on March 12 and 13, which wiped off about $92.5 billion in total market capitalization. Now, the bulls are attempting to stage a recovery. The fall of the past few days has shaken the belief that Bitcoin is a safe haven similar to gold and is a preferred place to hide during selling in equity markets. However, co-founder and partner at Morgan Creek Digital Anthony Pompliano said that the …

Analysis by blockchain monitor Whale Alert suggests that Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb sold off more than one billion XRP between 2014 and 2019. In a Medium post published on Feb. 6, Whale Alert estimated that McCaleb has another 4.7 billion XRP left to sell, equating to around 5% of the total supply. At today’s prices, the hoard is worth more than one billion U.S. dollars, dwarfing the $135 million Whale Alert estimates he has made via XRP sales to date. McCaleb sold another 19 million, or $4.13 million worth last month — and Whale Alert believes the rate may increase …

Altcoin investors had much to celebrate on Feb. 6 as NEM (XEM) led a resurgence in the price of many major cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360 NEM hits six-month high Data from Coin360 and Cointelegraph Markets showed XEM making gains of nearly 25% overnight on Wednesday, returning above $0.06 per token for the first time since August 2019. NEM 6-month price chart. Source: Coin360 The move comes as other altcoins saw fresh gains, with several in the top twenty by market cap expanding by more than 10%. Tezos (XTZ) sealed monthly gains of 80%, beating even Bitcoin’s (BTC) …

Investors are rushing into various safe haven assets as the coronavirus death toll in China rises and the virus spreads in various Asian countries, the US, parts of Europe and Australia. Usually, the initial reaction to any crisis is to dump all asset classes but gradually, the investors start to differentiate between asset classes as they analyze the effect the crisis can have on them. After the initial sell-off in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies due to the coronavirus scare, the crypto markets have stabilized and are rising once again. The total market capitalization of the crypto universe has risen from …

The International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath said in a panel discussion at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos that Facebook’s Libra was a major trigger that made people reconsider the status of the dollar as the reserve currency of the world. Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, who was also a part of the panel, said that “the Libra episode is just evoking a future digital currency.” In order to help policymakers understand the central bank digital currency (CBDC) better, the WEF in collaboration with some of the world's major central banks and experts from over 40 …

Recently Hiromi Yamaoka, the former head of payments and settlements at the Bank of Japan, said that Facebook’s Libra has forced central banks to research and consider issuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Currently China is leading the race in developing a CBDC but it appears that other nations are now attempting to play catch up. In a press release, the Bank of England said that the central banks of Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, the European Union, Sweden and Switzerland have joined hands with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) to form a working group tasked with researching CBDCs. …

The total market capitalization of the crypto space rallied from about $184 billion on Jan. 3 to a high of $250 billion on Jan. 19. That is a 35% gain within a short span of time. Usually, fast-paced rallies do not last long, hence, for the long-term health of the markets, it is better to have rallies with intermittent corrections. Bitcoin has been following the Stock-to-Flow model fairly accurately. The model’s creator, an analyst known as PlanB, believes that the price of Bitcoin is likely to average around $8,200 until the halving event in May of this year. Thereafter, the …

Thai Stellar-based blockchain startup Lightnet has raised $31.2 million to boost cross-border payments in Southeast Asian countries. The Bangkok-headquartered firm has completed a Series A funding round led by major financial conglomerates in the region, Singaporean United Overseas Bank (UOB) and South Korea’s Hanwha Investment & Securities, Business Insider Malaysia reports Jan. 10. Stellar blockchain is used to replace “inefficient” payment systems like SWIFT Implementing the Stellar blockchain, a major blockchain protocol that is used to operate eponymous cryptocurrency Stellar Lumens (XLM), Lightnet has a brave plan to replace established payment systems like SWIFT in Southeast Asian market, the report …

The price of an asset class is determined by its fundamentals and the sentiment towards it. At times of panic or exuberance, fundamentals take a back seat and sentiment dictates the price action. Currently, the US-Iran tension has sent investors scurrying towards safety. This has seen a move away from stocks and into assets that are considered safe havens. However, it is unlikely to be a one-way move. There will be periods of calm that would be followed by statements from both parties that would reignite the conflict. Accordingly, the volatility will remain high as the market participants interpret and …