• Aug 14, 2024

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF Gains Help BlackRock Flip Grayscale's Assets Tally

For years, Grayscale Investments served as crypto’s preeminent asset manager. But nearly eight months after the debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs, the title has been claimed by BlackRock. Last Thursday, the Wall Street behemoth surpassed Grayscale in terms of assets under management (AUM) for publicly-listed crypto products, CoinShares’ Head of Research James Butterfill told Decrypt. For him, the shift in status came faster than expected. “It represents established ETF providers and their power—how qui...

• Aug 14, 2024

Frozen Crypto Wallets Linked to Nigeria Protests Are Still Active: Report

Cryptocurrency wallets allegedly connected to #EndBadGovernance protesters in Nigeria are reportedly active and performing transactions, despite a court order to freeze them. The wallets contain over $37 million and were ordered to be frozen by Judge Emeka Nwite on July 9, according to a recent report by local news outlet Premium Times. However, an investigation by Techpoint Africa identified discrepancies between court documents and blockchain data, indicating these wallets may not have been fu...

• Aug 14, 2024

'I'm Not Leaving': Kim Dotcom Defiant in the Face of US Extradition Order

Bitcache founder Kim Dotcom, who faces a slew of charges over his controversial file-sharing website Megaupload, will be extradited to the United States after a more than decade-long tussle with American authorities. However, Dotcom claims he has a "plan" to avoid the maneuver. New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith signed an extradition order for Dotcom, ending a 12-year legal battle to bring him to the U.S., Reuters reported Thursday, citing a representative for the Minister of Justice....

• Aug 14, 2024

Bitcoin, Ethereum Prices Suddenly Plunge as Liquidations Top $175 Million

The prices of top cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin and Ethereum suddenly fell Thursday afternoon, prompting a fresh wave of liquidations of crypto positions—mostly long positions—as the market broadly turned red. Bitcoin fell by nearly 3% in just over an hour to a current price of $57,787 as of this writing, while Ethereum dipped even more to a current price of $2,547 per data from CoinGecko. Other top coins like Solana and Dogecoin have fallen even harder during the same span. Liquidations ov...

• Aug 14, 2024

Aavegotchi Studio Reveals ‘Members Only’ Ethereum Layer-3 Gaming Chain

Pixelcraft Studios, the company behind the crypto game Aavegotchi, announced Thursday that it plans to launch a “members only” Ethereum layer-3 gaming blockchain called Geist. Powered by multiple Ethereum scaling technologies, Geist is designed to overcome various hurdles facing the current crypto gaming environment, including high player turnover and a prevalence of “botting” used to manipulate rewards initiatives. "Geist is our response to the call for a more trustworthy and innovative gaming...

• Aug 14, 2024

Phoenix Rising: Building the ‘One-Stop Shop’ for DeFi on Stellar

With the launch of the Soroban smart contract platform on Stellar, developers are rushing to create decentralized apps (dapps) and platforms within the Stellar ecosystem. Among the first to launch is the Phoenix DeFi Hub, which aims to be the “one-stop shop” for decentralized finance (DeFi) on Stellar, its creators told Decrypt. “We're going to be launching a bunch of DeFi protocols that all synergize with each other and drive value,” said Phoenix Marketing Director Griffin Williams. First up is...

• Aug 14, 2024

How Artistry Sets Ethereum Card Game 'The Lost Glitches' Apart as Open Beta Hits Epic Store

For the creators of blockchain trading card game The Lost Glitches, artistry is “critically important” as a tool to draw players in—something that they see as lacking in the latest crop of huge “AAA” games. But speaking with Decrypt’s GG ahead of Thursday’s open beta launch for the card-battler, which runs on Ethereum layer-3 network Xai, the developers said they understand they must offer more than just slick and vibrant artwork to keep players engaged. “I think for us, [art] is critically impo...

• Aug 14, 2024

Did Drake Just Reference a Solana Meme Coin in a Sneaker Ad?

Moving on from his rap beef with Kendrick Lamar earlier this year, Aubrey "Drake" Graham is gearing up for the latest launch from his NOCTA apparel brand, formed in collaboration with Nike—and some crypto traders believe he may have referenced a rising meme coin. Banana Tape Wall (BTW) was created on Pump.fun at the start of August, peaking at a market cap of $18 million. This Solana meme coin is exactly what it says on the tin, with the associated image showing a banana duct-taped to a wall. I...

• Aug 14, 2024

Arthur Hayes: Why Bitcoin Ordinals Project Airhead Isn't Another ‘Boring’ NFT Drop

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes is launching a Bitcoin Ordinals collection dubbed Airhead, entering the market for Bitcoin-based collectibles by releasing a clutch of ballooned characters. Comprising 10,000 NFT-like assets, the batch of inflated profile pictures (PFP) stem from a collaboration with Oyl Wallet. The digital wallet for Bitcoin launched earlier this month, and on Thursday began allowlisting would-be buyers for the Airhead drop. The startup counts Hayes’ family office Maelstrom as an...

• Aug 14, 2024

USDC Tap-to-Pay on Apple iPhone 'Incoming Soon': Circle CEO

Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire predicted that tap-to-pay payments on iPhone using Circle's USDC stablecoin are "incoming soon," following Apple's decision to open up the iPhone's NFC payment functionality to third-party developers. In a tweet, Allaire advised wallet developers to “start your engines.” Tap to pay using USDC on iPhones incoming soon. Wallet devs, start your engines. https://t.co/D6lsj4saMS — Jeremy Allaire - jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) August 14, 2024 Allaire clarified in a...