CryptoMarket Arrives in Colombia: the Largest Cryptocurrency Platform in the Region

Audy Castañeda
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CryptoMarket Arrives in Colombia: the Largest Cryptocurrency Platform in the Region

CryptoMarket is present in important markets such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Peru, and currently has more than 620,000 users.

Chilean fintech CryptoMarket announced the start of its operations in Colombia as part of its regional expansion plan. The platform had transactions of more than $400 million during the first quarter of 2022, and since its inception in 2016, it has grown in the global market, with annual increases in its user base and transaction volumes.

CryptoMarket’s Expectations regarding Colombia

CryptoMarket sees Colombia as a strategic country to strengthen its growth plan in Latin America, not only because of its geographical position, but also because Colombia is the tenth country in the world with the largest cryptocurrency transaction and the second in the region after Venezuela. According to the latest United Nations report on Trade and Development for June 2022. In fact, CryptoMarket expects to reach more than 10,000 active users in Colombia by the end of its first year of operations.

“We are taking a big step for the Colombian financial industry by creating state-of-the-art technological financial infrastructure, which will make it easier for thousands of people and companies in this country to access the new world of decentralized finance, allowing them to buy and settle cryptocurrencies directly with Colombian pesos instantly, with liquidity that ensures competitive prices, even in the face of large operations”, mentions Francisco Sáez, CEO of CryptoMarket.

CryptoMarket’s Reputation and History…To Move Forward

CryptoMarket today has a wide range of cryptocurrencies, managing around 50 of the most recognized crypto assets with some of the lowest rates in the market, being able to operate from $5,000 COP, which makes the platform very competitive in the coin digital market.

“Most people think that to enter the cryptocurrency market you have to have specific trading knowledge, that is, know how to handle yourself within the financial markets to obtain benefits and dedicate time to it every day, but that is not the only way. From now on, all Colombians will be able to buy and sell cryptocurrencies instantly, use them as a hedge against inflation, or to send and receive international payments, even with small values. On our platform it is possible to do it from $5,000 COP, and not with fortunes as many think”, assured Andrés Gómez, Country Manager of CryptoMarket Colombia.

“Our mission is to generate and promote access to this new financial system powered by Blockchain technology in the region. An open, inclusive financial system that does not discriminate against anyone, open to anyone, anywhere in the world, without bureaucracy and with agility, justice and transparency, and for that we have a long way to go. However, we are in a unique moment in the world, where people exchange goods and services at a speed never seen before. To do this, we create systems that are natively globally connected. In addition, as a fintech company, we are working on a project to develop a competitive value offer in the business and contribute to the development of innovation and financial security”, added Andrés Gómez.

By Audy Castaneda

An Analysis Indicates that the Price of the FTX Token Might Become Bullish

Alexander Salazar
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An Analysis Indicates that the Price of the FTX Token Might Become Bullish

Two large red candlesticks form a pattern resembling a double bottom, indicating a change to a bullish trend similar to June. The stability of the price of FTT attracts short-/medium-term investors, while regulations, misconduct and failures pose risks to long-term investors.

In contrast to other cryptocurrencies, FTT, the FTX token, has performed well despite the crypto winter. For example, the price recently recorded an increase of around 7.5%.

The price of FTT hit its all-time high of USD 85.74 on September 8th, 2021, according to Binance. Meanwhile, it reached its yearly low of USD 21.03 on June 14th, 2022.

Following that low, the value of FTT recovered until it reached the monthly high of USD 32.64. The token of cryptocurrency exchange FTX seems to have consolidated between USD 26 and 27.

The daily chart shows that two large red candlesticks form a pattern resembling a double bottom. That pattern indicates a change to a bullish trend similar to June when the FTT price reached its floor.

The price also moved below the 20, 50 and 100-EMA, proving that the trend is still bearish despite the recovery. It must break the resistance at USD 33 to continue to rise. However, a return to USD 21 would mean a further drop in the downtrend marked by the crypto winter.

FTT Grows Thanks to the Performance of the FTX

The performance of cryptocurrency exchange FTX during the crypto winter has helped FTT, as investors feel confident to bet on it. That may have

FTX has played a relevant role in rescuing cryptocurrency platforms like Blockfi, besides some acquisitions this year. However, Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of FTX, has recently denied the rumors that they had bought the Huobi exchange.

The Recommendations to Consider about the FTX Token

FTT obtained profits of up to USD 270 million in the first quarter of 2022. However, the lows due to the collapse of the overall crypto market caused the gains to drop.

The price of FTT is attractive to investors with short-/medium-term strategies, as it seems more stable than Bitcoin and Ether. However, long-term investors should remember that centralized exchanges pose risks like regulations, misconduct, and failures.

Beyond the market and utility of centralized projects, their integrity and value lie in the actions of a few people. Aware of that situation, many people have chosen centralized cryptocurrencies, as they do not depend on any government or central bank.

Investors should not ignore that FTT has performed and grown well, showing excellent projections. Those factors have helped drive the price of the FTX Token significantly.

Meanwhile, FTT is trading at around USD 27.48 and has accumulated a 0.1% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 59.91 million, its market capitalization is about USD 3.68 billion, according to CoinGecko.

Investors should monitor the behavior of the market, external factors, and the movements of the Bitcoin whales. That would allow having a partial perspective of the current state of the crypto asset.

By Alexander Salazar

Who Were the Two Mysterious Sheikhs Who Attended the ‘Crypto Spree’?

Audy Castañeda
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Who Were the Two Mysterious Sheikhs Who Attended the ‘Crypto Spree’?

In the Arab world there are countries that are very interested in cryptocurrencies and others that have banned them under heavy fines.

The MundoCrypto event that was held on August 27 in Madrid continues to generate controversy. The organizers have announced that they will return the full amount of the tickets after Facua’s complaint. This represents 2.30 euros more than the 47 euros of the reservation for management fees. Therefore, an extra 16,000 euros is due from MundoCrypto.

To all this, the presence of two people in Arab attire in the VIP area of ​​the Wizink Center in Madrid during the gala has gone viral on social networks.

These two guests were seated at table 25 and wore the traditional foot-length white robe and the Saudi headdress consisting of the headscarf (shemagh) and a piece to keep it called an iqal.

Doubts and Mockery

The faces of the people close to these two characters have raised doubts as to whether they would be two actors or, really, they were attendees of the event. Someone has even dared to say that one of them had participated in the First Dates program. The headphones they wear were used to listen to the simultaneous translation of the speakers.

These mysterious characters raise the need to know how Arab countries deal with the use of cryptocurrencies. In general, they have adopted positions contrary to the use of this type of currency, although there are exceptions.

Kuwait and Qatar

Kuwait and Qatar have banned crypto asset services on their territory. Qatari law prohibits “anything of value that acts as a substitute for currency that can be traded or transferred digitally, and can be used for payment or investment purposes.” This contrasts with the sponsorship of a major company in this business of the World Cup to be held in Qatar. The penalties for those who offer these services can be in the millions.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain compete to be the world’s great crypto hub. The largest cryptocurrency center. Binance, one of the largest exchange platforms, has set its advisory board in Dubai, and FTX, is also based in the capital.

The United Arab Emirates has gone a step further and the Day to Day Hypermarket chain of stores allows its customers to pay with cryptocurrencies both in its stores and online.

It is worth noting that Dubai, an emirate city of the United Arab Emirates well known for its lavish architecture and luxurious commerce, has been working all this year on crypto regulations, in order to attract traders and investors to the area.

In March this year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, president of the emirate of Dubai, announced the implementation of a virtual asset law: “The future belongs to whoever designs it. Today, through the law of virtual assets, we seek to participate in the design of this new, fast-growing global sector. Our step is a leap into the future aimed at developing this sector and protecting all investors in it… And the future is more beautiful… complete… and better, God willing.”

If the two guests at the MundoCrypto party were not imposters, everything indicates that they could be representatives of some company from the United Arab Emirates or Bahrain interested in hearing, for example, how El Salvador has accepted Bitcoin as legal tender.

By Audy Castaneda

According to Rune Christensen, DAI Might Lose Its Parity with the US Dollar

Alexander Salazar
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According to Rune Christensen, DAI Might Lose Its Parity with the US Dollar

Christensen thinks the decentralization of DAI would reduce the impact of lawsuits on the MakerDAO protocol. He said the regulations forcing cryptocurrency companies to follow state guidelines him to think of that measure.

Rune Christensen, the CEO of MakerDAO, recently explained that Dai (DAI) issuers plan to take steps toward decentralization. The Danish entrepreneur claimed that removing the US dollar risks of DAI might cause it to lose its USD peg.

Christensen said they should choose the path to decentralization, their original intention and purpose. On August 11th, he proposed converting the USD 3.5 billion worth of DAI reserve of MakerDAO into Ether (ETH).

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, referred to it as a dangerous idea. The Canadian programmer developer considers that the depreciation of ETH will lead MakerDAO to fail.

The Decentralization of DAI Might Reduce the Impact of Lawsuits

Rune Christensen told the community that MakerDAO plans to decouple the MakerDAO native token from USD Coin (USDC). He explained why the free-floating Dai (DAI) might be the only option for the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO).

Christensen said that decentralization would reduce the impact of lawsuits on the MakerDAO protocol. He added that they could only limit the risk of real-world assets (RWA) to a maximum proportion of the collateral, which requires USD-free floating.

The executive believes decentralization is the only possible solution, as MakerDAO does not comply with regulatory requirements. Therefore, he considers that they must decouple the stablecoin DAI to implement this concept from USDC.

The Reason Why Christensen Takes that Measure

According to Christensen, the regulations forcing cryptocurrency companies to follow the state guidelines motivated him to think of that measure.

In addition, decentralized finance (DeFi) could not prove its value as a neutral and public good as it delivered no real value. He highlighted that cases like Terra and Celsius ruined the image of those protocols.

Christensen explained that the only option was to reduce the exposure to RWA to a maximum percentage of the collateral. He said that doing that would require a free fluctuation of the price.

The Benefits of Decentralizing the DAI Stablecoin

The company posted on its blog that it had lost hope, claiming that DAI would lose value with the USD dollar with decentralization. However, Rune Christensen highlighted that the end game strategy offers solutions to that problem.

With DAI, MakerDAO proves the existence of a free-floating currency and the acceptance of tokens with a decreasing value compared to the USD.

It will help stabilize the free-floating DAI as the tokens foster the production of more coins from decentralized collaterals.

Mariano Di Pietrantonio concluded that there is not yet a specific date for the change proposed by Christensen. The CEO of MakerGrowth said that this initiative must undergo a formalization and governance process.

The relevance of decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin in the economy is growing, which the owners of lending platforms know. They know their companies have more opportunities to profit from them than stablecoins.

By Alexander Salazar

Following Recent Attacks on DeFi Platforms, the FBI Gives Security Recommendations

Alexander Salazar
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Following Recent Attacks on DeFi Platforms, the FBI Gives Security Recommendations

The government agency warns about the risks of DeFi platforms as malicious actors use them to commit fraud. Since hackers seek cryptocurrencies for their untraceability, the FBI recommends users ensure whether those companies have undergone audits.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently warned investors of planned frauds to steal user funds. The government agency also told them about the risks of using decentralized finance platforms.

The FBI recommended conducting extensive research on DeFi platforms, smart contracts and protocols before using them. It argued that it would allow understanding the potential risks of investing in them.

The FBI Recommends Ensuring DeFi Platforms Have Undergone Audits

Among other things, DeFi investors must consider using platforms whose codes have undergone audit at least once. The FBI recommends ensuring that independent auditors have performed one or more code audits on them.

They explained that a code audit usually involves a thorough review and analysis of the underlying code of the platform. That examination aims to identify any vulnerabilities or weaknesses that could affect its performance negatively.

The FBI said it had monitored hackers that took advantage of vulnerabilities in the smart contracts governing DeFi platforms. Those criminals reportedly used an investment strategy or self-executing contracts written directly in code lines on a distributed decentralized blockchain network.

The victims cannot claim the profits criminals have made through those hacks. The FBI told investors to contact it if they suspected hackers had stolen their cryptocurrency investments.

The Numbers of Hacks on DeFi Platforms Is Rising

The FBI highlighted that the hackers spamming the industry target investors that use the complex cross-chain functionality and open nature of DeFi platforms.

The government agency explained that cybercriminals take advantage of security flaws in the smart contracts governing DeFi platforms.

Between January and March, criminals stole around 97% of the 1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrencies from DeFi platforms. That represented an increase of 72% compared to 2021 and 30% to 2020.

Furthermore, hackers have also stolen crypto assets using flash loans, causing their victims to lose USD 3 million.

The FBI Also Gives Recommendations to DeFi Platforms

Users of DeFi platforms have the opportunity to borrow and lend crypto similarly to banks. However, no insurance backs those assets, and a lack of government policies to regulate them makes them more vulnerable to attack.

The FBI recommends that DeFi platforms implement code analysis, monitoring, and testing to address vulnerabilities that might lead to smart contract exploit.

Over the last few years, experts have advised that companies implement security software using multi-factor authentication (MFA). However, those platforms have not yet adopted it, which the FBI considers would be the most effective and sustainable approach.

Cybercriminals are aware of the relevance of cryptocurrencies, evident in frauds on DeFi platforms. That has led government security agencies to give recommendations to those wanting to invest in those assets to avoid losing money.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin is trading at around USD 20,000 and has accumulated a 5% gain over the last 24 hours. While its daily trading volume is above USD 25.50 billion, its market capitalization is about USD 500.75 billion, according to CoinGecko.

By Alexander Salazar

The Price of AVAX Drops Due to Rumors about the CEO of Ava Labs

Alexander Salazar
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The Price of AVAX Drops Due to Rumors about the CEO of Ava Labs

Emin Gün Sirer allegedly paid lawyers to attack his competitors but denied those accusations, saying he would never engage in illegal or unethical behavior. The rumors are unlikely to affect the price of AVAX in the medium to long term, as they only involve Ava Labs.

Although its launch recently occurred in 2020, Avalanche (AVAX) was among the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies in 2021. However, the rising transaction fees in Ether (ETH) have placed it as an option. AVAX is now in the top 16 crypto assets by market capitalization.

It hit its all-time high of USD 151 in November 2021 and its yearly low of USD 13.7 in June 2022. Then AVAX started to trade at 30.89 USDT on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange.

The daily chart shows five red candlesticks in a row, representing a drop of over 10% compared to the previous day. The collapse in the overall crypto market, the Fed announcements and some rumors about the CEO of Ava Labs caused that fall.

AVAX is trading below the 20, 50 and 100-EMA, which signals a bearish trend.

The Fed announcements caused the crypto market to suffer a sharp pullback. However, the price of AVAX dropped much further due to a scandal involving Emin Gün Sirer, the CEO of Ava Labs.

Emin Gün Sirer Allegedly Pays Lawyers to Attack His Competitors

According to a note on the Crypto Leaks portal, Emin Gün Sirer, the founder of the Avalanche project, allegedly paid lawyers to attack his competitors.

The extensive note shows videos of conversations between Sirer and alleged members of a law firm famous for conducting cryptocurrency-related lawsuits.

The voices in the audiovisual materials appear distorted, but Sirer refers to the firm and some lawsuits.

The CEO of Ava Labs denied those accusations, saying he would never engage in illegal, unethical, or wrong behavior. He stated those self-serving videos and inflammatory articles were ridiculous and part of a conspiracy theory.

Although Sirer defended himself, he has not yet responded in time to all the accusations in the note.

Changpeng Zhao, the CEO of Binance, described the accusations as wild in a tweet. He also said the cryptocurrency exchange was the subject of lawsuits from Sirer despite not being a competitor.

Medium- and Long-Term Predictions about the Price of AVAX

This technical analysis of AVAX indicates the repercussion of this fact in the medium and long term.

Despite the impact of those rumors on the price of AVAX, they are unlikely to affect it in the medium to long term. The scandal involves Ava Labs, not the integrity of the Avalanche project itself.

If confirmed, the alleged unethical attitude of Sirer indicated in the above note leaves a lot to say. However, AVAX is a solid project with significant development, making it unlikely to escalate to the judicial level. Besides, the behavior he shows in the videos is unethical but not criminal.

To conclude, this network reached an all-time high in the number of daily transactions on August 9th. There were more than 1.51 million transactions, which positions this blockchain as one with high performance.

By Alexander Salazar

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