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Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has released an updated roadmap for the network’s plans in 2024. Buterin shared the roadmap on Dec. 30 in a series of posts on X, where he confirmed it will only include minor changes from the previous year. The six main focuses for Ethereum (ETH) in 2024, as outlined by Buterin, include the merge, the Surge, the Scourge, the Verge, the Purge, and the Splurge. By popular demand, an updated roadmap diagram for 2023! pic.twitter.com/oxo58A2KuG — vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) December 30, 2023 The Merge, a major element of the roadmap, aims to maintain a straightforward and robust proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus. This element was highlighted in 2022 when it led to the integration of the Ethereum mainnet and the Beacon Chain proof-of-stake blockchain. Following this integration, Ethereum transitioned from a power-intensive proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism to PoS, significantly reducing the network’s overall energy consumpt...

Crypto exchanges in India have reportedly convened for emergency meetings.  The crisis talk came after the Indian government moved to block Binance, Kucoin, Huobi, and Kraken. Indian exchanges heavily rely on Binance for liquidity, creating a tight situation. Prominent crypto exchanges in India have reportedly convened for emergency meetings. This comes amid recent developments in the Indian crypto space, where the government has moved to block URLs associated with offshore exchanges. The founder of the crypto-focused platform SmartViewAi, Pushpendra Singh, took to X to draw public attention to the development. The meetings likely seek to address the potential repercussions of the government’s decision to frustrate local exchanges’ access to global crypto trading platforms.  Singh shared details about how the government decision impacts India-based crypto trading platforms amid their close ties with prominent overseas exchanges like Binanc...

At least three quarters of web3 games have entirely failed, according to researchers at CoinGecko, who found that a stunning 2,127 abandoned or inactive web3 games have launched over the past six years. CoinGecko used Footprint Analytics’ data for its study. It defined a failed game as one whose activity had declined by more than 99% since its peak. In 2018, crypto founders launched a total of 422 games. Within 12 months, 307 of those had failed. In 2019 and 2020, failure rates for web3 games declined to abysmal annual lows of 94%. Unfortunately, this year is faring no better. 509 out of 720 games launched in 2023 have already failed — representing a 71% failure rate. Below is a list of some failed web3 games. All of this assumes, of course, that web3 even exists beyond a marketing buzzword. You don’t own “web3.” The VCs and their LPs do. It will never escape their incentives. It’s ultimately a centralized entity with a different label. Know what you’re getting into… ...

A U.S. federal judge has ruled in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a case against Terraform Labs and its former CEO Do Kwon. According to a U.S. court’s decision, Terraform Labs and Do Kwon sold two unregistered securities , referring to the LUNA, UST, and MIR tokens. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff made the decision on Dec. 28. The court cited Kwon’s previous commentary, which stated that LUNA holders simply need to “[s]it back and watch [him] kick-ass” to conclude that LUNA meets the Howey test. Concerning the MIR token, the court held that the defendants could not seriously dispute that they caused MIR holders to expect profits from a joint enterprise based on Terraform’s efforts to develop, maintain, and evolve the Mirror Protocol. “In other words, that MIR passes the Howey test with flying colors.” Court’s filing You might also like: Terraform Labs and SEC agree on confidentiality terms as trial ...

Dec 28, 2023 at 08:07 // Price Author Coin Idol In the previous week, altcoins slipped after reaching recent highs. Cryptocurrencies have risen above moving average lines after failing to break their previous highs. Cryptocurrencies are expected to recover when the decline ends above the moving average lines. The value of cryptocurrencies will fall when the moving average lines are broken. Each of these cryptocurrencies is examined in depth below. SATS SATS (1000SATS) has returned to a horizontal trend after reaching a high of $0.0009302. The crypto currency ...

Amid recent volatility, the gold price has most certainly seen an upswing, leading Wells Fargo to join a long list of financial institutions predicting a $2200 price point for the asset in 2024. As Federal Reserve interest rate cuts are expected in the coming year, the metal should perform positively. Following its ascension to a new all-time high earlier this month, the asset saw a price correction deploy. However, even hints toward those rate cuts have seen the value increase. Today, the asset briefly surpassed the $2093 mark before retreating to its current price of $2077. Also Read: Gold Price Predicted to Stay Above $2000 Throughout 2024 Wells Fargo Expects Big Things From Gold in 2024 Over the past few months, gold has certainly unveiled itself as one of the best-performing investment assets. Indeed, in December it reached a new all-time high, holding above $2150 for the first time since 2020. Subsequently, many have predicted similar behavior in the coming year. N...

MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), a leading company holding a substantial amount of Bitcoin (BTC), remains steadfast in its commitment to cryptocurrency. The publicly traded firm has further increased its holdings of flagship crypto. MicroStrategy company had expanded its Bitcoin holdings via the acquisition, which amounted to approximately $615.7 million or 14,620 Bitcoin, equivalent to $42,110 per Bitcoin, as announced by its owner, Michael Saylor, via X post on December 27. This announcement has been confirmed by the form released by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that between November 30, 2023, and December 26, 2023, MicroStrategy and its subsidiaries acquired the above-specified amount in this period. MicroStrategy now holds more than 180,000 Bitcoin Along with the announcement of the new acquisition, Saylor shared the update, which stated that Microstrategy now holds 189,150 BTC, obtained for approximately $5.9 billion at an average cost of $31,168 per Bitcoin. ...

Hackers managed to steal $2 billion in crypto in 2023, but for the first time since 2020, the trend is showing a decline. Throughout 2023, scammers and hackers executed numerous cyberattacks and rug pulls, resulting in the theft of approximately $2 billion worth of cryptocurrency, as reported by De.Fi, a web3 firm. A spokesperson for De.Fi, in a conversation with TechCrunch, emphasized that the figure highlights the “persistent vulnerabilities and challenges within the DeFi ecosystem.” You might also like: Major crypto hacks of 2023: how industry lost over $1b within minutes De.Fi’s REKT database documented at least 455 incidents in 2023, with the largest hack amounting to $231 million, attributed to Multichain. Despite the alarming $2 billion total, the efforts of cybersecurity experts and white hat hackers led to the recovery of approximately $200 million from the overall sum, De.Fi’s data shows. Funds lost by blockchain | Source: De.Fi Et...

Bitcoin’s dominance in the derivative market dips below 40%. Ethereum holds steady but loses dominance, while Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin lead the altcoin charge in open interest. Altcoins now command two-thirds of the futures market volume against Bitcoin. Data has shown that the altcoin market is fast stealing the spotlight from Bitcoin, as more funds now go into derivative contracts of alternative cryptocurrencies than BTC. In particular, market statistics from the derivative market tracking portal Coinalyze indicated that Bitcoin’s dominance in terms of Open Interest (OI) has waned. A month ago, the OI in Bitcoin, representing the cumulative sum of active Bitcoin futures or options contracts within the market, was at $10.16 billion. At the time, the OI for the altcoin market, excluding Ethereum, stood lower at $8.10 billion. This implies Bitcoin wielded a dominance of 42% as of November 27. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s open interest dominance further...

Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. could eclipse the entire crypto currency exchange-traded product (ETP) market. As BitMEX analysts note, the crypto currency ETP market has 150 products and has a valuation of $50.3 billion as of Dec. 22, 2023. The list includes spot and futures funds that typically track the performance of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). The largest ETP on the list is Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust, which is currently attempting to convert into a spot ETF product. Of the 150 crypto funds, the 20 largest ETFs attracted the most investment, totaling $1.3 billion inflows during 2023. “With the supposedly imminent approval of the Bitcoin spot ETFs by the SEC in the United States, this dataset and Analysis derived from it may be interesting. For example, it could be useful in determining the extent to which the spot Bitcoin ETF cannibalizes existing exchange-traded products or attracts new capital into the crypto currency space.” BitMEX Research The rac...

Japan has scrapped corporate tax on unrealized profits Companies holding unrealized gains on their crypto assets will not pay tax on them as from April 1, 2024. Japan is reportedly doing away with corporate tax on unrealized profits from crypto currency holdings, according to the latest news by local media outlets. Japan changes corporate tax law on crypto Per the news updates, companies and institutions holding crypto will not pay tax on their “ unrealized gains” from April 2024.  The cabinet approved the tax changes on December 22, local media outlet Nikkei reported. The new tax regime will take effect on April 1, 2024 – the date that Japan’s fiscal year starts. This follows the Japanese government’s approval of a revision to the country’s tax law as applies to companies that hold digital assets issued by third parties. Companies are set to only get taxed on realized profits- after they sell. As it stands and...

Arthur Hayes, co-founder of the BitMEX crypto exchange, is sounding the alarm regarding what he sees as possible dire outcomes of the pending regulatory approval of the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The concern lies in traditional finance asset managers, such as BlackRock, potentially undermining Bitcoin (BTC) by dominating the spot Bitcoin ETF market. In a blog post on Dec. 22, Hayes highlighted the risk of such firms holding “all the Bitcoin in circulation.” If that happens, he says, an over-successful ETF managed by traditional asset managers could ultimately lead to the decline of the cryptocurrency. "Expression" is my last article of 2024. I offer some thoughts on expressions of the #crypto investment theme that will ultimately prove to be worthless. May the Pump be with you!https://t.co/bG4ZnSjYu5 pic.twitter.com/nbru6yZlJD — Arthur Hayes (@CryptoHayes) December 23, 2023 Hayes argues that BlackRock and similar entities “vacuum u...

Bitcoin may encounter strong resistance around the $45,000 price point, although the potential for a significant rally beyond this crucial level remains quite promising. Bitcoin is positioned close to the $44,700 resistance level, showing a modest challenge from bearish forces. Nonetheless, the downside appears to have a protective buffer, as market participants anticipate the regulatory approval of one or more spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in January. This development is poised to inject considerable momentum into the cryptocurrency market. Should the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETFs materialise, it will likely trigger an initial, reactionary surge. However, subsequent attention from traders is expected to centre around the actual demand for these ETFs. In its market update, QCP Capital, a prominent trading firm, expressed that the “initial demand for the BTC Spot ETF may not meet market expectations,” which could prompt traders to secure profi...

Trade between BRICS countries experienced a rapid rise in 2023 after signing new deals and renewing existing partnerships and agreements. The trade deals initiated by BRICS are now putting the alliance on the global map for the sheer scale of the cross-border transactions. According to new data from the World Bank, trade between BRICS nations is headed to reach $500 billion in 2024. While the value falls much below the average global trade, BRICS ’ numbers are slowly yet steadily rising. The alliance is creating a foundation that could later turn into full-fledged trade agreements strengthening their native economies. Also Read: BRICS: Analyst Predicts Biggest Economic Crash in US History The important weapon that BRICS is currently hiding under their sleeves is the de-dollarization initiative. The bloc first plans to cement trade agreements and help it grow in the coming few years. Once the stage is set, BRICS could put their de-dollarization initiative to work and beg...

Assessing the current market conditions, the pursuit of VeChain (VET) millionaire status requires a carefully devised strategy and timely execution. In the present market scenario, seizing the opportunity to acquire VET today is seen as a potential avenue for significant gains. However, a pertinent question arises: what quantity of VET is necessary to amass a one-million-dollar fortune? As per the latest market update, VET is currently valued at $0.03535, with a trading volume of $138,880,271 within the past 24 hours. For those aspiring to achieve a $1 million portfolio with VeChain priced at $1 per coin, the calculation is straightforward: divide the desired target of $1,000,000 by the coin price of $1, resulting in the acquisition of 1,000,000 VET. Also read: Here’s How to Be a Millionaire When Polygon MATIC Hits $2 How much VeChain (VET) do you need to become a millionaire if the price hits $1? To determine the current cost of this strategic investment, multiply the quant...

Ripple is the largest XRP holder, with most of its holdings so far locked in escrows until 2027. Every month, 1 billion tokens are unlocked and managed by the company, arbitrarily re-locking or keeping its desired share. In December, Ripple kept 200 million XRP (20%) and re-locked the rest in escrows set for April and May 2027. The crypto wallet account holding its available reserves is labeled as ‘Ripple (1)’ by XRP Scan . Usually, the company sends to this account what it wants to keep each month, later paying an unlabeled address. Which then routes the amount to a series of other unlabeled addresses, likely controlled by the same owner, until the XRP tokens reach centralized exchanges. In most months, Ripple will spend the entire un locked amount. In others, the company will sell just a part of it, keeping the rest in its reserves . Ripple already spent 240 million XRP in December Cryptocurrency Cardano founder and Ripple CTO at odds over Trump’s removal from Co...

Phantom wallet has unveiled a version that now support s Bitcoin as well as Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens. In a blog post, the Phantom team said the new integrations are currently supported in beta mode to a select number of trusted apps like Magic Eden and UniSat, suggesting users have to manually activate BTC support in their wallet s to access the new Features . “And regardless if you’re a Solana or Ethereum maxi, or a multichain enjoyooor, there’s no denying that we wouldn’t be here without it.” The Phantom team You might also like: Solana’s Phantom wallet rolls out cross-chain swapper to bring liquidity from Ethereum Launched in 2021, Phantom initially offered services mainly on Solana. The  wallet  provider claims to have over two million users. With a focus on multi-chain functionality, the wallet empowers users to convert both coins and non-fungible tokens across various blockchain networks. Furthermore, users can also select their...