CoinShares Reports Record Investments in Cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin Leading the Way, And Other News

Investments in cryptocurrencies reach a record last week, according to CoinShares. Bitcoin leads the total investment flow.

According to a recent report from CoinShares, cryptocurrency and Bitcoin investment products, as well as more digital assets, saw a notable increase in inflows last week. Reaching its highest point since July 2022.

During that week, a total of $326 million was invested in digital asset investment products, with Bitcoin standing out as the leader, accounting for 90% of the total investment flow.

The CoinShares report highlighted that Bitcoin attracted investment of $296.3 million, representing 90% of inflows. Although there was also an increase in investments of $15 million in short Bitcoin investment products due to recent price increases.

SEC Regulator Gary Gensler Celebrates Bitcoin’s 15th Anniversary

The chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, has surprised the cryptocurrency community by wishing Bitcoin a happy birthday in a post from his X account. In addition, Gensler took advantage of the Halloween holiday to launch a mockery of the mysterious creator of the cryptocurrency.

In a joking tone, Gensler wrote in his tweet: “If Satoshi Nakamoto dressed up as Satoshi Nakamoto on Halloween, would we be able to recognize him?”

“If crypto is going to be widely adopted, it needs some rules of the road & a cop on the beat to enforce them. To be clear, I am technology-neutral. What I’m not neutral about: Investor protection,” posted Gensler on X.

In his message shared this Tuesday, the top US financial regulator reminded companies related to cryptocurrencies of the importance of complying with securities laws.

Turkey Advances in Cryptocurrency Regulation to Get Off the FATF “Gray List”

Turkey is in the process of drafting new regulations aimed at supervising cryptocurrencies. All this, in an attempt to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to remove the country from its “gray list” of nations that have not taken sufficient measures against money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

The FATF included Turkey on this gray list in 2021, noting that the country complied with all regulations established by the organization, with the exception of issues related to cryptoassets.

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek mentioned his intention to propose a new law on crypto assets to Parliament to address this issue, although he did not specify the necessary legislative changes.

The FATF, set up by the G7 group of advanced economies to protect the global financial system, had warned Turkey about “serious shortcomings” including the need to improve measures to freeze assets linked to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction proliferation in 2019.

Onyx Protocol, DeFi Project, Loses Almost $2 Million in Ethereum Due to Alleged Exploit

Blockchain analysis company PeckShield has announced that the decentralized finance (DeFi) project known as Onyx Protocol has suffered a loss of approximately $2 million in Ethereum due to an alleged exploit.

PeckShield has informed the community about a $2.1 million incident related to an exploit in the project. Furthermore, the purported Onyx Protocol hacker’s wallet has a balance of 1,164 ETH, which is equivalent to approximately $2.1 million. So far, Onyx Protocol has not issued any comments or statements regarding the incident, and the information available about the exploit is limited.

By Leonardo Pérez

XRP Price Prediction for Q4 2023: Solana Will End the Year on a High, InQubeta Raises $4.1 Million in Pre-Sale

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Excitement has gripped the cryptocurrency community as Ripple (XRP), one of the most notable altcoins, is on the cusp of a significant moment.

The last quarter of 2023 is unfolding and the tokens are following different trajectories. In between, some are expected to finish the year on a high, including Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL) and EnQubeta (QUBE).

Why are these tokens bullish? Below the XRP price prediction for the last quarter of 2023 will be followed. It is also explored how Solana is preparing to end the year on a positive note. Finally, InQubeta is analyzed in terms of how it managed to raise an impressive $4.1 million in its ongoing pre-sale.

InQubeta (QUBE): $4.1 Million Raised

Along with Solana and XRP, InQubeta (QUBE) is a promising investment. This begs the question: why is this?

First of all, QUBE is listed on initial coin offerings, which means its current price is competitive and has significant growth potential. Additionally, it managed to raise $4.1 million in its ongoing pre-sale, demonstrating considerable investor confidence.

What sets it apart in the pre-sale space is that it combines blockchain with artificial intelligence. Additionally, it aims to transform the AI ​​fundraising landscape by enabling AI startups to raise funds through cryptocurrencies. This project is in the fourth phase of its pre-sale and costs only $0.0133 per token. It also has significant growth potential, which analysts predict will grow 40-fold immediately after its launch.

Ripple (XRP): Q4 Promising Forecast

Ripple, an experienced player in the cryptocurrency space, finds itself at an intriguing juncture, raising expectations in the market. The decisive date for the project’s fate has been announced on X (formerly Twitter) by James Filan, a pro-XRP lawyer: “By November 9, 2023, the parties shall jointly propose a briefing schedule with regard to remedies. If the parties cannot agree on a schedule, Judge Torres will set the schedule.”

The community awaits a fight that could test the company, as news has emerged that the SEC is seeking restitution of around $700 million.

Ripple (XRP) is one of the most established and popular cryptocurrencies on the market. It is among the top 5 cryptocurrencies in terms of market capitalization, which highlights its popularity. Furthermore, XRP is prominent because of the crucial problem it solves. It offers cross-border transactions that are fast, affordable and scalable. In view of this, it has been widely adopted in the financial scenario.

The XRP price prediction for the last quarter of 2023 is promising. According to analysts’ forecasts, before the end of the year it will reach the level of 1 dollar.

Solana (SOL): One of the Main Blockchains

Solana (SOL) is also among the Top 10 cryptocurrencies. It is one of the leading altcoins on the crypto scene, and the reason is clear: Solana allows the creation of decentralized applications (dApps). What makes it different is that It has a hybrid consensus model, which is a combination of proof of stake (PoS) and proof of history (PoH).

Solana is expected to end 2023 with a positive balance due to its growing adoption; in addition, it has been gaining ground in the cryptocurrency market; and the momentum is expected to continue until the end of the year.

XRP and Solana’s optimistic outlook highlights the potential of the crypto community. Furthermore, InQubeta managed to raise a significant amount of $4.1 million in its pre-sale, which is evidence of its growing popularity.

By Audy Castaneda

Can the Venezuelan Petro Save the Country’s Economy? Find Out Here

Nicolas Maduro promised that Venezuela would have “monetary sovereignty” with this currency and that it would help them skip the economic sanctions they had received in 2017. The appearance of the Petro served for the Venezuelan crypto sector to grow and for adoption in the country to increase. will accelerate, but everything has taken a hit due to corruption. Sunacrip is arrested after the PDVSA Crypto plot and its president is in prison. The Venezuelan crypto sector is waiting to find out what will happen to cryptocurrencies in the country.

“I have studied this topic intensively and I want to announce that Venezuela is going to implement a cryptocurrency system, the petro currency,” this is how Nicolas Maduro, Venezuelan president, announced the creation of the Petro, the crypto that promised to rescue the national economy and that has been forgotten after six years.

In fact, the Petro has been progressively disappearing from government discourse and official advertisements. It went from being a reference to measure the minimum wage to being a mere memory of another government promise that remained unfulfilled.

2017: Venezuelan Petro Genesis

To understand where the Petro comes from, it is necessary to go back to 2017, the year of its birth. If the contemporary history of Venezuela is reviewed, 2017 can be considered the worst year ever experienced.

In the political sphere, the longest and most violent day of protest in its history was experienced. The National Assembly with an opposition majority lost most of its powers, leaving an opposition inoperative and divided. On the economic level the situation worsened. The hyperinflation cycle began, the shortage worsened and the dollar reached historical highs.

All this gave rise to the structure beginning to break down on a social level. A great migratory wave began that led the number of Venezuelan migrants to reach 7 million people. By early 2017, Bitcoin was in the $1,000 range and the number of profitable projects was limited, but there was a golden opportunity that was just beginning: cryptocurrency miners.

Thanks to low energy prices and devaluation, purchasing Bitcoin mining equipment and installing it in Venezuela was extremely profitable. Although this practice had been going on since at least 2014, 2017 was the year it became popular. But as often happens in Venezuela, as soon as it became mainstream, the government decided to interfere.

The Corruption Plot Linked to the Venezuelan Petro

The crypto sector in Venezuela seemed to be going stronger and stronger, until a large wave of arrests unleashed in May 2023, in what was known as the PDVSA Crypto case, a corruption plot that led to the arrest of 60 people involved.

It all started when social networks leaked that arrests were being made among the ruling leadership and allies of those involved. The rumors did not stop coming and they all pointed to Tareck el Aisammi as the main person involved.

The plot is focused on Venezuelan government companies, mainly PDVSA, the state oil company. According to the Attorney General, Tareck William Saab, Sunacrip created a “parallel” structure that received funds from state companies and manipulated them at will without any control. After this, Sunacrip was intervened, its operations stopped and the crypto industry entered a moment of paralysis where, without a regulatory body, it cannot operate with legal freedom.

Ultimately, the Petro experiment, the Venezuelan government’s crypto project, has been forgotten. Many still remember this, but everything indicates that it is already a thing of the past.

By Leonardo Pérez

Alibaba Implements New AI Update and Competition Grows Between China and the US

Alibaba introduces Tongyi Qianwen 2.0, an advanced big language model, to compete with American tech giants. In addition to Tongyi Qianwen 2.0, Alibaba launched industry-specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) models and GenAI service platform. Amid AI advances, global regulations are evolving, including Biden’s executive order on AI safety.

In the growing race for AI supremacy, Alibaba has provided the impetus. The tech titan unveiled Tongyi Qianwen 2.0, its new Large Language Model (LLM), which demonstrates substantial improvement in understanding complex instructions, writing, reasoning, and hallucination prevention.

This announcement comes amid an intensifying LLM race between the United States and China, where Alibaba strives to rival American tech giants such as Amazon and Microsoft.

As it may be recalled, China has had a difficult relationship when it comes to cryptocurrencies. The country has taken forceful measures against mining companies in 2021, a precedent that has caused companies to leave for other latitudes. However, it has also been promoting trials of a digital yuan through the People’s Bank of China.

Alibaba Advances AI Progress in China

Alibaba stated in a press release that “Tongyi Qianwen 2.0 demonstrates remarkable abilities in understanding complex instructions, writing, reasoning, memorization, and hallucination prevention.”

The company also launched industry-specific AI models and the GenAI services platform, which allows companies to build their own generative AI applications using their proprietary data. This addresses a common concern about access to third-party data in public generative AI products like ChatGPT.

While these developments are noteworthy, they come in the context of a broader regulatory push. In the United States, President Joe Biden signed the first executive order on AI. This calls for new safety assessments, civil rights guidance, and research into the impact of AI on the labor market.

According to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, the executive order represents “the strongest set of measures that any government in the world has ever adopted regarding security and trust in AI.”

In recent years, Alibaba has been closely monitored by the Chinese government, all in the midst of an offensive against the technology industry. Alibaba is China’s largest e-commerce company, with more than 900 million active users annually on its Taobao and Tmall platforms. It also operates the country’s largest cloud computing and digital payment platforms.

Other Countries than the US and China Improving AI Regulations

Biden’s executive order is comprehensive, addressing issues ranging from creating new safety standards for AI, protecting consumer privacy, promoting equity and civil rights, to studying the implications of AI in the labor market.

Additionally, it stipulates that AI companies will share security test results with the federal government. They should also provide guidelines to prevent AI algorithms from exacerbating discrimination.

Internationally, G7 nations are working on a voluntary ‘Code of Conduct’ for advanced AI systems. The code is known as the “Hiroshima AI process,” which aims to promote safe and trustworthy AI around the world.

The European Commission’s digital chief, Vera Jourova, said it would act as a bridge until regulation is established. As Alibaba flexes its AI muscle with Tongyi Qianwen 2.0 and GenAI services platform, it’s clear that the LLM race between the US and China is heating up.

At the same time, global regulations are evolving to ensure responsible harnessing of AI’s immense potential. This dynamic interplay between technological innovation and regulatory oversight will shape the future of AI for years to come.

By Audy Castaneda

Ethereum Has More Than Ten Full-Time Developers Compared to Cardano: Will ADA Ever Catch Up?

Ethereum is attracting more activity even though its competitor reached a critical point in its development.

Ethereum is the most popular smart contract platform when considering the number of full-time developers. According to the Developer Report, which gets its data from GitHub, Ethereum had 1,889 full-time developers, more than 10 times those working on Cardano (153), a competing platform, and more than triple those working on Polkadot (621), on October. 1st.

Developers Prefer Ethereum: Competitors Fight

In particular, there are more developers contributing code to the Bitcoin blockchain (340) than those working on Solana (268) and BNB Chain (163). Technically, these platforms should have more code requirements because they support launching decentralized applications (Dapps).

Developer Report defines a “full-time developer” as someone who ships code at least ten times a month. Looking at the trends and based on the commits submitted in each of the major blockchain source codes on GitHub, there are at least 1,889 developers who have been actively offering code and improving Ethereum.

Based on this data, Ethereum appears to be establishing itself as a platform of choice for developers and competing protocols, including Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA), could struggle to match.

Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, Bitcoin and other popular networks are public ledgers. As such, the community continually improves its code. Since they are public, the number of developers submitting code and actively reworking the platform is critical.

Typically, the developer count will not only measure how healthy the protocol is but also the level of activity. Whenever multiple developers submit code, it indicates that the blockchain is generating interest, which can contribute to the launch of a robust and secure network that can anchor innovation. This can also decentralize the platform from the developer’s perspective because no one person is trusted to improve the source code.

Solana (SOL) Price Analysis

SOL price remained in a bullish zone above the $28.00 and $30.00 support levels. The bulls were active near the $31.20 area. A base was formed and the price started a decent rise above the $33.50 level.

There was a push above the $35.00 level and the 55 simple moving average (4-hours). The pair even rose above the $36.50 level. A high was formed near $38.80 and the price is now consolidating gains. It is trading well above the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level of the upward move from the low of $31.30 to the high of $38.80.

Cardano Is Building Up, Why Is ADA Lagging Behind?

Ethereum is attracting more activity even though its competitor reached a critical point in its development. For example, Cardano is in the Basho phase, where Charles Hoskinson, the founder, and Input-Output Global (IOG), the blockchain development wing, are building to improve performance and scale. Some of the key features that the team plans to launch include Hydra, the layer 2 scaling solution that is being tested, and sidechains such as Milkomeda and Atala PRISM, which are being tested. Despite these developments, Ethereum continues to dominate decentralized finance (DeFi) activity, considering total value locked (TVL), according to DeFiLlama. As of October 31, Ethereum manages over $22 billion in assets, while Cardano controls approximately $198 million.

On the charts, ADA is also fighting against ETH. ADA is down approximately 40% against ETH from the 2023 highs. However, prices have remained stable over the past three months, if you look at the price action on the daily chart.

By Leonardo Pérez

US Senator Retracts and Asks to Stop Investigation Against Binance and Tether in Hamas Case

Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis was frustrated by the correction of the Wall Street Journal, the source she used to request an investigation. The representative admitted that there is a misconception that cryptocurrencies are a tool for illicit finance, with which she had accused Binance and Tether. Lummis cited a report from Chainalysis, according to which these movements represent less than 1% of global illicit financial activity.

After calling for Binance and Tether to be investigated for alleged cryptocurrency donations to the terrorist group Hamas, Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis expressed frustration at the Wall Street Journal’s correction. This is the source used by the representatives to send a letter to the Secretary of Justice of the United States, Merrick Garland.

In the letter, they urged the taking of severe determinations against the alleged bad actions of the aforementioned platforms. Once the journalistic outlet corrected his assertions, Lummis expressed himself on social networks. He admitted to echoing the post and renewed his call for clear regulation for the cryptocurrency industry.

The “Inaccurate Report” for which the US Asked to Investigate Binance and Tether

The report in question detailed how cryptocurrencies had been used to finance three prominent organizations in the Middle East. Since at least August 2021, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah had received cryptocurrency donations. Cynthia Lummis herself allowed her feelings be read in a post in X, after WSJ partially corrected the publication that caused the senator from Wyoming’s misstep:

“An inaccurate report last week claimed that Hamas raised nearly $100 million through crypto assets. In reality, it was less than 500 thousand dollars. “This encapsulates the misconception that cryptocurrencies are a tool for illicit finance when they represent less than 1% of global illicit financial activity.”

Lummis highlighted the seriousness of inaccurate statements whose subsequent correction does not achieve the same scope as the accusations. He did it during a conversation in X: “Those types of reporting errors are very dangerous because once the stories come out, they become a narrative and the correction didn’t get the amount of traction it should have.”

In the space dedicated to analyzing what happened, the representative recognized that these types of accusations harm the substantive debate around cryptocurrencies. He also asked that the need to regulate the activity not be lost sight of.

“When people default, people who don’t like cryptocurrencies go back to saying that cryptocurrencies are bad. Let’s ban cryptocurrencies. This sets the debate back. Legitimate uses of cryptocurrencies require a well-understood regulatory framework. “Senator Gillibrand and I have presented a regulatory framework to Congress that could be enacted.”

Chainalysis is Summoned by the Senator to Separate the Links between Binance and Tether with Hamas

A recent report from the analysis firm Chainalysis explains that cryptocurrencies are very little used by terrorist groups. The main argument is the ease with which movements can be tracked. According to the report’s conclusions, digital assets represent a very small part of terrorism financing in the world.

This work was what Senator Cynthia Lummis cited to request that alleged bad actions by certain actors could involve the entire industry. Chainalysis explains that even though there are indeed terrorist organizations that use cryptocurrencies to collect, store and transfer funds, the percentage is minimal in the total volume of cryptocurrency transactions that are illicit.

The analysis concludes that, when it comes to financing, traditional methods are more attractive to terrorists. This includes fiat currencies, financial institutions and front companies.

By Audy Castaneda