Popular crypto trader Lark Davis is naming five altcoins that he thinks can print huge gains amid sustained fundamental developments.
Davis tells his 448,000 YouTube subscribers that he’s looking at EGLD, the native asset for the high throughput blockchain project Elrond. The analyst cites the news that Elrond’s Maiar decentralized exchange (DEX) is launching next month.
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“Elrond is basically Ethereum 2.0. But now, its got all the beautiful technology, and this is a coin that has been just continuing to get attention and grow community, and they are on the verge of launching their technology into the wild and actually having a DeFi (decentralized finance) ecosystem and a token ecosystem and launch pads and all that stuff starting.”
According to Davis, the Maiar DEX signals the beginning of a good DeFi ecosystem for Elrond.
Next on Davis’ list is DOT, the native token for the interoperable blockchain Polkadot. The trader points to the fact that Polkadot’s parachain auctions are scheduled to start on November 11th.
“We’re going to see a lot of money flowing into these parachain auctions.”
The parachain auctions allow participants to place bids on a project they wish to support in order to secure one of Polkadot’s limited number of parachain slots.
Davis is also keeping a close watch on MOVR, the utility token of smart contract protocol Moon River Network. The analyst says there’s an “incredibly big community” behind the project.
He also notes that automated market maker SushiSwap is about to be integrated with Moonriver.
“We’re starting to see a lot of DeFi protocols and stuff like that come on board to Moonriver. So this is basically Ethereum, but on Kusama…. except that it’s not even at a $1 billion market cap yet. Think about how crazy that is.”
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Next on Davis’ list is WILD, the native token for Wilder World, a decentralized metaverse project built on Ethereum (ETH).
Says the trader,
“This thing, I’m telling you – it’s going to have a $1 billion market cap… potentially a multi-billion dollar market cap coin when you actually look into the graphics and the metaverse and what’s being built here. It is very nice looking.”
The last coin on the trader’s radar is LUNA, the native token for the smart contract platform Terra. The analyst predicts LUNA will surge to more than $100, citing reports that more than 160 projects will launch on Terra in the near future.
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Following Coinbase’s numerous mainstream marketing initiatives, consumers are demonstrably taking notice. The leading US crypto exchange’s mobile app is once again the most popular product in the App Store. It has received more downloads than any other application in the past few days.
Coinbase Reigns Supreme
A recent look at App Store statistics shows Coinbase as the #1 ranked free app right now. Behind it are the likes of TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and the newly popular mobile football game “Retro Bowl”. Interestingly, another crypto exchange – CryptoCom – currently holds the #4 spot.
The popularity of these crypto apps is no surprise. Bitcoin recently broke its all-time high following a bull run throughout October and has mostly held above $60 000 since then. The momentum has likely reignited consumers’ interest in digital asset investment, attracting them to various exchanges.
This isn’t the first time that Coinbase has seen such widespread popularity. It previously reached the top of the charts in May 2021, just after Bitcoin’s previous ATH. The only other time was in 2017 – a famously bullish year for BTC and most altcoins.
However, even among other exchanges, Coinbase is proving a fierce competitor. The company has launched multiple sponsorships and products that integrate it into every aspect of the crypto space. These include plans for an NFT marketplace, and an option to receive one’s income in cryptocurrency. Coinbase even tried to launch a crypto-lending product but was subsequently stopped by the SEC.
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Advertising Cryptocurrency
The digital asset space has undoubtedly established itself as a credible industry, and it has the promotion to prove it. For one, Coinbase just became the official cryptocurrency partner of the NBA. Its ads can be seen at the base of the association’s basketball nets and broadcast on live television.
It doesn’t stop there: FTX recently bought ads to be aired at the Superbowl, and CryptoCom has recruited Matt Damon to promote the exchange. Even obscure individual cryptocurrencies like Floki are getting exposure to the general public through transit ads.
With such concentrated marketing, it’s no wonder why crypto apps are being downloaded in record numbers by Americans. Currently, Coinbase ranks in the top 25 on the Google Play Store, with Crypto.com ranking even higher at #16.
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The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem is booming. All metrics point toward the usage of the BSC blockchain returning to its height in July 2021. BNB, the native token of BSC, has rallied strongly as a result.
Binance logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen photographed for illustration photo. Krakow, … [+]Poland on May 12, 2021. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
There are three key figures that show retail investors are flocking to Binance Smart Chain. They are daily token transfers, daily gas used, and active BSC addresses.
First, let’s take a look at the daily token transfer chart. This infographic shows the number of transfers of tokens on Binance Smart Chain every day.
In July, when the user activity of Binance Smart Chain hit its peak, daily token transfers hovered around 12.5 million.
Today, as of October 31, the number of daily token transfers on BSC nears 15 million, which indicates that the user demand for BSC is at fresh highs.
Binance Smart Chain daily token transfer chart
BSCScan.com
Naturally, as the number of token transfers on Binance Smart Chain increased, the amount of BNB used as gas rose simultaneously.
The amount of gas paid in BNB per day is hovering over 1,750 billion, slightly lower than the 2,000 billion BSC saw in July.
MORE FOR YOU
On BSC, similar to how Ethereum relies on ETH to cover gas (transaction costs), users have to pay transaction fees with BNB.
Binance Smart Chain daily gas used
BSCScan.com
Hence, if the total gas consumption on BSC increases, it most likely leads to a positive effect on the value of BNB.
In recent weeks, BNB has surged substantially, moving from around $400 to above $520 at the weekly peak.
Lastly, there is the number of active addresses currently on Binance Smart Chain.
Since early 2021, the number of active addresses on BSC skyrocketed. In the past two months alone, this figure rose from 1.25 million to nearly 2 million.
Active addresses on Binance Smart Chain
BSCScan.com
As BNB continues to rally and the user activity on Binance Smart Chain surges, there are a few key things worth looking at.
First, projects coming out of Binance Launchpool and launchpad would most likely perform strongly in the coming months.
Coin98, as an example, which is the biggest cross-chain wallet with a major userbase in Southeast Asia, is trading near $4 billion in fully diluted valuation after debuting on the Binance launchpad.
Second, DeFi protocols on Binance Smart Chain are expected to perform strongly in the coming months. According to DappRadar’s Q3 2021 report, DeFi activity on Binance rose by 487% since 2020.
Third, the GameFi sector within BSC has been booming with interest as of late, as users from Southeast Asia continue to fuel the crypto game market.
Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, which first started the wave of Axie Infinity, have mostly been focusing on the BSC landscape.
My Neighbor Alice, for example, which launched on Binance Launchpad, rose by 33% in the past week and is trading at a $279 million valuation.
My Neighbor Alice rallied possibly due to its upcoming pre-alpha testing, where users can test the game and leave feedback.
MetaWars, a space-themed crypto game on Binance Smart Chain, is trading at a $650 million fully diluted valuation shortly after launching its game trailer.
MetaWars performed well in the past week most likely due to the anticipation of space-themed NFTs, staking, and the upcoming RPG game.
Throughout the fourth quarter of this year, DeFi, GameFi, and metaverse projects on Binance Smart Chain could continue to prosper as long as user activity and retention remain strong.
The key would be for Binance Smart Chain to prevent bottlenecks and delays in transactions, which the network has seen in the past week due to increased user activity.
Resolving network congestion would be crucial to ensure that the new user flow continues to expand the BSC ecosystem.
The Binance Smart Chain (BSC) ecosystem is booming. All metrics point toward the usage of the BSC blockchain returning to its height in July 2021. BNB, the native token of BSC, has rallied strongly as a result.
Binance logo is displayed on a mobile phone screen photographed for illustration photo. Krakow, … [+]Poland on May 12, 2021. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
There are three key figures that show retail investors are flocking to Binance Smart Chain. They are daily token transfers, daily gas used, and active BSC addresses.
First, let’s take a look at the daily token transfer chart. This infographic shows the number of transfers of tokens on Binance Smart Chain every day.
In July, when the user activity of Binance Smart Chain hit its peak, daily token transfers hovered around 12.5 million.
Today, as of October 31, the number of daily token transfers on BSC nears 15 million, which indicates that the user demand for BSC is at fresh highs.
Binance Smart Chain daily token transfer chart
BSCScan.com
Naturally, as the number of token transfers on Binance Smart Chain increased, the amount of BNB used as gas rose simultaneously.
The amount of gas paid in BNB per day is hovering over 1,750 billion, slightly lower than the 2,000 billion BSC saw in July.
MORE FOR YOU
On BSC, similar to how Ethereum relies on ETH to cover gas (transaction costs), users have to pay transaction fees with BNB.
Binance Smart Chain daily gas used
BSCScan.com
Hence, if the total gas consumption on BSC increases, it most likely leads to a positive effect on the value of BNB.
In recent weeks, BNB has surged substantially, moving from around $400 to above $520 at the weekly peak.
Lastly, there is the number of active addresses currently on Binance Smart Chain.
Since early 2021, the number of active addresses on BSC skyrocketed. In the past two months alone, this figure rose from 1.25 million to nearly 2 million.
Active addresses on Binance Smart Chain
BSCScan.com
As BNB continues to rally and the user activity on Binance Smart Chain surges, there are a few key things worth looking at.
First, projects coming out of Binance Launchpool and launchpad would most likely perform strongly in the coming months.
Coin98, as an example, which is the biggest cross-chain wallet with a major userbase in Southeast Asia, is trading near $4 billion in fully diluted valuation after debuting on the Binance launchpad.
Second, DeFi protocols on Binance Smart Chain are expected to perform strongly in the coming months. According to DappRadar’s Q3 2021 report, DeFi activity on Binance rose by 487% since 2020.
Third, the GameFi sector within BSC has been booming with interest as of late, as users from Southeast Asia continue to fuel the crypto game market.
Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines, which first started the wave of Axie Infinity, have mostly been focusing on the BSC landscape.
My Neighbor Alice, for example, which launched on Binance Launchpad, rose by 33% in the past week and is trading at a $279 million valuation.
My Neighbor Alice rallied possibly due to its upcoming pre-alpha testing, where users can test the game and leave feedback.
MetaWars, a space-themed crypto game on Binance Smart Chain, is trading at a $650 million fully diluted valuation shortly after launching its game trailer.
MetaWars performed well in the past week most likely due to the anticipation of space-themed NFTs, staking, and the upcoming RPG game.
Throughout the fourth quarter of this year, DeFi, GameFi, and metaverse projects on Binance Smart Chain could continue to prosper as long as user activity and retention remain strong.
The key would be for Binance Smart Chain to prevent bottlenecks and delays in transactions, which the network has seen in the past week due to increased user activity.
Resolving network congestion would be crucial to ensure that the new user flow continues to expand the BSC ecosystem.
Coming every Saturday,Hodler’s Digestwill help you track every single important news story that happened this week. The best (and worst) quotes, adoption and regulation highlights, leading coins, predictions and much more — a week on Cointelegraph in one link.
Top Stories This Week
Bakkt shares skyrocket after partnering with Mastercard and Fiserv
On Monday, the share price of the Intercontinental Exchange-backed crypto services company Bakkt (BKKT) surged 120% on the back of two major partnerships with Mastercard and Fiserv.
Both partnerships were announced on Monday, with the Mastercard deal enabling Bakkt’s U.S. customers to buy, sell and hold crypto assets via custodial wallets. Meanwhile, the strategic collaboration with global payment provider Fiserv gives Bakkt the chance to offer merchant-facing digital asset services.
The news sparked a bullish rally that saw BKKT surge by 120% to sit at $30.60 by the end of trading on Monday.
ProShares Bitcoin-linked ETF launches on NYSE
ProShares achieved a major milestone for the crypto sector this week after the firm debuted its Bitcoin (BTC) futures-based exchange-traded fund (BITO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Tuesday.
ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF saw around $1 billion in volume on its opening day, with Bloomberg analysts stating that it was arguably thelargest first-day volumefor an ETF in terms of “natural” or “grassroots interest.”
After two days on the NYSE, ProShares’ ETF became the fastest fund ever to reach $1 billion in assets under management. Following ProShares’ ETF, many onlookers are waiting to see how the next in line performs. At the time of writing on Friday, Valkyrie just launched itsBitcoin futures ETFon the NYSE.
GBTC delivered better returns than Bitcoin ETFs last week
While there has been a lot of hype surrounding the long-awaited launch of the first U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, Grayscale’s executives highlighted that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) actually outperformed them last week.
Over a seven-day period starting from Oct. 19, the industry stalwart GBTC returned around 8.8%, while the new and shiny ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF dipped around 0.5%.
Despite Grayscale outlining plans to convert GBTC into an ETF, Barry Silbert, CEO of Grayscale’s parent company Digital Currency Group, was still keen to rub salt in the wound, as he highlighted GBTC’s higher trading volumes compared to BITO. As of Monday, GBTC’s volume totaled $374 million, while BITO managed to generate $286 million.
Volt Equity’s ‘Bitcoin revolution’ ETF goes live on NYSE
Speaking of ETFs, Volt Equity’s Bitcoin ETF went live on the New York Stock Exchange on Oct. 28.
The Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF, which is trading under the ticker BTCR, opened at $21 in a nod to Bitcoin’s max supply of 21 million BTC. BTCR tracks companies with significant exposure to Bitcoin, such as MicroStrategy, Tesla, Twitter, Square, Coinbase and several BTC mining firms.
According to Volt Equity, the ETF is implementing a management approach informed by PlanB’s Bitcoin stock-to-flow model, a quantitative model intending to predict BTC’s price. Volt Equity told Cointelegraph that the firm will gauge the market behavior of Bitcoin and adjust its exposure to mining firms if the asset drops in value significantly.
NFL quarterback Tom Brady gives fan 1 BTC for his historic 600th-touchdown-pass ball
Superstar NFL quarterback Tom Brady almost lost the ball he threw for his record 600th touchdown pass this week after wide receiver Mike Evans mistakenly handed it off to a fan after scoring.
Evans apparently did not realize that it was the quarterback’s record pass at the time. However, Brady revealed after the game on Monday that he offered the fan 1 BTC as thanks for handing it back quickly.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also agreed to give the fan two signed team jerseys, a helmet with Brady’s autograph, Mike Evans game cleats as well as a jersey signed by the wide receiver, season tickets for the rest of the year and through 2022, as well as a $1,000 credit towards purchases at the team’s store. Many onlookers have complained that it was a weak offer, as the ball could have sold for a much higher value via auction.
Someone bought $3,400 worth of SHIB last August. It’s now worth $1.55 billion
On Thursday, an unknown crypto billionaire was unveiled after their wallet address was shown to be worth $5.63 billion in SHIBA INU (SHIB).
The anonymous SHIB hodler’s $3,400 investment in the dog-themed token in August 2020 equated to a value of $1.55 billion. Out of the total of 44 purchases since that time, the investor never spent more than $3,200 on the asset at one time.
SHIB has gained around 85,437,459% over the past 12 months, and the asset temporarily ousted Dogecoin (DOGE) as a top-10 ranked coin this week. SHIB surged to a market cap of $40.3 billion on Thursday, while DOGE tallied in at $31.6 billion at the time.
SHIB has since seen a sharp pullback, allowing DOGE to briefly regain its status as the number one memecoin. At the time of writing, DOGE’s market cap sits at $36.1 billion, while SHIB’s figure stands close behind at $38.5 billion.
Winners and Losers
At the end of the week, Bitcoin (BTC) is at$62,540, Ether (ETH) at$4,420andXRPat $1.08. The total market cap is at$2.66trillion,accordingto CoinMarketCap.
Among the biggest 100 cryptocurrencies, the top three altcoin gainers of the week are SHIBA INU(SHIB)at 164.03%, Curve DAO Token(CRV)at 58.39% and Decentraland(MANA)at 54.46%.
The top three altcoin losers of the week are OKB(OKB)at -23.74%, XDC Network(XDC)at -12.94% and Stacks(STX)at -9.66%.
For more info on crypto prices, make sure to readCointelegraph’s market analysis.
Most Memorable Quotations
“Anybody that does the homework […] ends up investing into it. Look at Ray Dalio, a Bitcoin skeptic, now a Bitcoin investor.”
Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital
“#Bitcoin is the most practical solution for a consumer, investor, or corporation seeking inflation protection over the long term.”
Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy
“To a degree, we think rising regulations could be a positive for Coinbase’s competitive positioning, particularly versus business models that predominantly rely on markets being unregulated.”
Peter Christiansen, Citi analyst
“As of yesterday, the total size of the digital asset market was $2.7 trillion. Among that $2.7 trillion, nearly 60% were commodities. […] Given the size, the scope and the scale of this emerging market, how it’s interfacing and affecting retail customers, and with the scale of the growth being so rapid, potential financial stability risks in the future, I think it’s critically important to have a primary cop on the beat.”
Rostin Behnam, acting chairperson of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
“Creators, owners and operators or some other persons who maintain control or sufficient influence in the DeFi arrangements, even if those arrangements seem decentralized, may fall under the FATF definition of a VASP where they are providing or actively facilitating VASP services.”
Financial Action Task Force
“GameStop is looking for a unique individual who can help accelerate the future of gaming and commerce. In this future, games are the places to go, and play is driven by the things you bring. Future creators won’t just build games but also the components, characters, and equipment. Blockchains will power the commerce underneath.”
GameStop job post
“The conversation has shifted dramatically, where I think there’s a little bit of an understanding [from professional sports organizations] that there’s something here. I meet very little resistance these days that NFTs are a thing.”
Caty Tedman, head of partnerships at Dapper Labs
“There may be some parallels here between the 2017 bull run and this 2021 cycle; however, adoption is far greater, open interest is higher, and the utility of crypto is unrecognizably farther along than in 2017.”
Steven Gregory, CEO of Currency.com
Prediction of the Week
Bitcoin price dip matches October 2017 with BTC ‘explosion’ still forecast before 2022
Bitcoin’s price sustained a bit of turbulence this week, trading above $63,000 before falling down to around $58,000, based on data fromCointelegraph’s BTC price index. Following the dip, Bitcoin’s price rallied back up past $62,000.
Zooming out on a longer time horizon than just this week reveals similarities in price action between 2021 and 2017 (one of the crypto market’s notable bull runs) according to charting from Twitter user Smart Crypto. The Twitter personality posted a tweet showing two charts side by side — one from 2017 and one from 2021.
Both charts showed Bitcoin’s price action from July until the end of the year. The charts look as if 2021 rhymes with 2017 in terms of Bitcoin’s price action. If BTC’s chart continues playing out similarly to 2017, the asset could be in for a notable rise in value ahead. Smart Crypto’s tweet was seemingly based on analysis from Twitter user TechDev.
Earlier this week it was reported that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was investigating Polymarket, a New York-based decentralized prediction market platform.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources who claimed that the CFTC was looking to gauge whether the firm was enabling customers to trade binary options and conduct swaps that should be registered with the financial regulatory agency.
“Polymarket is firmly committed to complying with applicable laws and regulations and to providing information to regulators that will assist them with any inquiry,” a spokesperson from Polymarket said.
SEC reportedly knocks back Valkyrie’s leveraged Bitcoin ETF
It was reported on Thursday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had knocked back two Bitcoin ETF applications from Valkyrie and Direxion.
On Tuesday, Direxion filed for a product that would enable investors to buy contracts that short the price of BTC, while Valkyrie applied for a leveraged BTC futures ETF the following day.
As many onlookers have pointed out, the SEC appears to specifically favor Bitcoin ETFs that offer direct exposure to futures contracts, as opposed to funds that are directly backed by the asset, or ones that are leverage-based and shorting-focused in this instance.
US gov attorneys to target individuals and gatekeepers for crypto prosecutions
A group of high-ranking U.S. government attorneys from the SEC, Department of Justice (DOJ) and CFTC outlined their agencies’ directives for white-collar crypto enforcement on Wednesday.
The SEC’s enforcement director, Gurbir Grewal, said the regulator is putting its focus on gatekeepers, as he noted that “they’re the first line of defense more often than not against all manner of misconduct.” Grewal added that the SEC is also keeping an eye on unregistered crypto exchanges, unregistered and fraudulent initial coin offerings, and crypto-lending platforms.
Nicholas McQuaid, the principal deputy assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Criminal Division, said that his agency is looking to crack down on fraudulent individuals specifically. While Vincent McGonagle, the acting director of the Division of Enforcement for the CFTC, said that regulators are focusing on the wild west of decentralized finance (DeFi).
Best Cointelegraph Features
We haven’t even begun to tap into the potential of NFTs
Nonfungible tokens will become a critical component of all brands’ marketing and digital strategy initiatives.
Why now? SEC took eight years to authorize a Bitcoin ETF in the US
The SEC has been holding steady for years, but the real-world dynamics of crypto adoption and maturation rendered an ETF approval all but inevitable.
Crypto City: Guide to New York
The city that never sleeps is one of the major hubs in the crypto world despite the best efforts of regulators.
The nonfungible token (NFT) market is growing. According to a new report by analytics platform DappRadar, NFT trade volume soared past $10 billion during the third quarter of 2021, a sevenfold increase from the previous quarter’s figure. Although a significant slice of that action comes from runaway hits like NBA Top Shot, CryptoPunks and gaming platform Axie Infinity, NFT use cases are rapidly proliferating as creators recognize their potential.
In the not-too-distant past, celebrities keen to profit from the burgeoning crypto scene had few options. Mostly, they were limited to shilling an initial coin offering (ICO) or investing their own money in a startup they deemed promising. Thanks to NFTs, however, they can now leverage their star appeal by releasing sought-after digital collectibles representing, well, just about anything: artwork, albums, trading cards, or merchandise. These tokenized collectibles can then, in turn, be traded on the open market among fans and investors.
Related:When dollars meet the hype: The biggest NFT hits from celebrities
The music industry is a perfect proving ground for NFTs
From musicians and athletes to actors and supermodels, prominent celebrities are busy minting and auctioning a dizzying array of blockchain-based assets and commodities that appeal to the digitally-savvy crowd. Through NFTs, public figures can connect with fans in a digital realm and open up a new revenue stream into the bargain.
Earlier this year, Canadian musician Grimes sold almost $6 million worth of NFTs encompassing artwork and audio-visual animations. While some tokens were one-of-a-kind, other cheaper items had thousands of copies. Although this fact appears to contradict the NFT concept — isn’t every NFT supposed to be provably unique? — the “duplicates” in question raised over $5 million.
Dropping NFTs tomorrow at 2pm EST. enter the void pic.twitter.com/l9fNFUCheX
— Grimes ᚷᚱᛁᛗᛖᛋ (@Grimezsz) February 28, 2021
It is perhaps unsurprising that musicians are increasingly leveraging NFTs to supplement their income: The shift to streaming over the last decade has massively impacted the earning power of artists. The global COVID-19 pandemic also dealt a huge blow to the industry, since many musicians had relied on live performance for income. Acts joining Grimes down the NFT rabbit hole include Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Jay-Z, Shakira, Lewis Capaldi, Steve Aoki, Shawn Mendes, Kings of Leon, Soulja Boy and Aphex Twin.
Related:NFTs are a game changer for independent artists and musicians
Of all of the above names, Kings of Leon made perhaps the biggest splash by tokenizing their new album, When You See Yourself, and raised $2 million in the process. Interestingly, the release included half a dozen Golden Ticket auctions, with the resultant tokens entitling the holder to front-row seats to one show from every Kings of Leon tour for life. Album tokens priced at $50, meanwhile, included a limited-edition vinyl.
We are proud to support Katy Perry’s highly anticipated NFT launch in December that celebrates her upcoming Play residency at the Resorts World Las Vegas hotel. Katy is one of the world’s best-selling artists with all six of her albums surpassing one billion streams on Spotify. Interestingly, the NFTs will include both digital collectibles and IRL experiences — so there’s something for everyone.
Creativity is at the heart of these ventures, and new NFT use cases are emerging all the time. Take blockchain-powered marketplace Royal, for instance, which allows users to purchase shares of songs they enjoy — and earn royalties as those same tracks achieve popularity. Artists, meanwhile, get to retain the majority of rights to their work while accessing direct funding from their biggest supporters. According to Royal, it’s a system “where artists and fans can benefit mutually without relying on middlemen taking most of the profits.” A nice idea, to be sure, and one wonders what the record label bosses make of it.
From TopShot to Topps
Music may very well prove to be the single biggest driver in pushing NFTs into the mainstream — but sports stars are also embracing NFTs en masse.
Of course, we cannot discuss the intersection of blockchain and sport without referencing NBA Top Shot, the basketball card trading game that has turned its creator Dapper Labs into a multi-billion dollar company. Top Shot gives NBA fanatics the opportunity to buy, sell and trade officially-licensed video highlights of iconic moments like Lebron’s two-handed reverse windmill slam against the Houston Rockets last February — $219,000 is the lowest ask, FYI. Lest you believe that trading is concentrated among a core of diehards, Top Shot has facilitated over 13 million transactions while onboarding over a million users.
Needless to say, this formula is being replicated across other sports including baseball (Topps MLB), soccer (Sorare, Socios) and motor racing (F1 Delta Time). ONE Championship, the largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion in Asia, also recently announced that they will be launching a marketplace on the Theta blockchain with NFTs offering exclusive access to real-world benefits such as backstage passes, ringside seats and other personalized fan experiences. Individual sportsmen and women are also mobilizing their fan bases through special NFT drops, with heavyweight champion Tyson Fury selling a one-of-a-kind token for just shy of a million dollars. The buyer also received a physical painting of the artwork, signed boxing gloves and a personal video from the self-professed Gypsy King.
Related:Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team
It’s natural to wonder where we go from here. Will the NFT bubble burst, leaving fans and investors holding a hoard of digital collectibles? Or, will we see more creative use cases emerging, with NFTs granting fans all kinds of nifty perks?
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Mitch Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Theta Labs. In 2010, Liu co-founded Gameview Studios, one of the earliest free-to-play mobile game studios best known for its Tap Fish game franchise with nearly 100 million downloads. The company was acquired by DeNA, a leading Japanese mobile gaming company six months after launch. Prior to that, he co-founded Tapjoy in 2007, a pioneer of mobile video advertising, and grew that company to $100MM in revenues. He holds a BS in Computer Science and Engineering from MIT and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is revealing one factor that could be responsible for powering Bitcoin’s (BTC) rally over the month of October.
In a new report, Kraken says that a supply shock trend, which shows no signs of slowing, might be one of the drivers behind Bitcoin’s rally this month.
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“BTC has been priming itself for a supply shock thanks to further accumulation by long-term holders. This accumulation may be a driver for BTC’s recent move past $60,000. The latest on-chain data indicates that this supply shock trend is growing.”
Kraken says it is keeping an eye on the HODL waves metric, which shows the percentage of BTC supply that has remained dormant over a specific period. According to the report, long-term holders continue to accumulate Bitcoin despite its strength this month.
“Since May 24th, young coins have been maturing into the long-term holdings category at a rapid rate. During the nearly five-month period, old coins grew 10.9 percentage points to 51.6%, while young coins fell -11.8 percentage points to 25.49%, the lowest figure since November 2018 when BTC was worth roughly $5,700. In the last month, young coins ticked down another -1.57 percentage points, while old coins grew +1.48 percentage points. This tells us that long-term holders, who own most coins, continue to accumulate supply.
For this reason, the immediately marketable supply continues to dwindle – hence our observation that BTC may be experiencing a supply shock.”
According to Kraken, Bitcoin miners are also partly responsible for the supply shock.
“The largest public BTC mining firms in North America, including Riot, Marathon, Bitfarms, Hut8, Greenidge, Argo, and HIVE, have publicly reported that they are holding 20,459 [BTC} (~$1.25B), including 4,812 [BTC] (~$293M) of Marathon that it bought from the secondary market earlier this year...
Needless to say, mining pools are aligned with long-term holders in their bullish sentiment and represent a further contribution to BTC’s latest supply shock.”
The cryptocurrency exchange also says that a consensus is developing among market observers that long-term holders of Bitcoin expect the flagship crypto asset to go up as 2022 approaches.
“Despite BTC falling more than -15% in September and surging through October, long-term holders continued accumulating. Such leaves market observers to believe that long-term holders see further upside heading into a new year.”
You can read the full report here.
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Featured Image: Shutterstock/Jorm S/Velishchuk Yevhen
We have some great news coming out of the United States on the cryptocurrency industry this month with potentially more good news coming later this fall. On Oct. 6, Gary Gensler, head of the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), confirmed during a House Committee on Financial Services hearing that the regulator will not ban cryptocurrency, potentially blazing the path for the world’s largest economy to become the global leader in the development of decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain technologies.
Gensler, who taught a class on cryptocurrency at MIT, also said that prohibiting cryptocurrency doesn’t fall under the SEC’s mandate and the only way to legally ban digital assets would be through Congress. “It’s a matter of how we get this field within the investor consumer protection that we have and also working with bank regulators and others — how do we ensure that the Treasury Department has it within Anti-Money Laundering, tax compliance,” Gensler said. He also added:
“Many of these tokens do meet the test of being an investment contract, or a note, or a security.”
U.S. regulators will not ban cryptocurrencies
The SEC’s announcement comes after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Sept. 30 that the regulator has no plans to ban Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies during testimony in Congress. When asked by Rep. Ted Budd, a longtime advocate for the cryptocurrency sector and a member of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus, whether he intended to “ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies,” Powell responded with a resounding “No. [I have] no intention to ban them.”
Fed Chair Powell says he has no intention to ban #Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies pic.twitter.com/i2zfRPk1je
— LilMoonLambo (@LilMoonLambo) September 30, 2021
Most of the media reports I have been reading are headlined with “The U.S. will not ban cryptocurrencies.” This is true, but this also means something much more significant: The U.S. will allow cryptocurrency to grow and will embrace the community to be involved in the process of discussing better ways for regulating the industry.
When the largest economy in the world announces that it will allow cryptocurrency to exist with its current financial industry — of course, with proper regulation — all other nations should take notice and begin considering opening their doors and regulating the industry in a fair way that spurs innovation and helps to create new jobs.
The U.S. allows crypto as adoption increases
As we have been seeing, U.S. regulators are incorporating the cryptocurrency industry into its financial system — allowing the traditional banking system to work alongside the new and fast-growing decentralized financial system. This could enable the U.S. to become a frontrunner in fintech development, blockchain technologies and even into more unconventional parts of decentralized finance such as insurance, trade finance and fundraising.
Related:Crypto in the crosshairs: US regulators eye the cryptocurrency sector
From a regulatory standpoint, there is plenty of work that still needs to be done by the cryptocurrency community and the U.S. government to pinpoint where their interest aligns and how they can work tougher, therefore making a smart decision together on how to regulate the industry, including the regulation of stable coins, decentralized exchanges, cryptocurrency derivatives and yield farming, just to name a few.
It is also very possible that the SEC could approve as many as four Bitcoin futures this fall, based on Bloomberg Intelligence’s count. On Oct. 3, the analyst put the chances the SEC would approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) at 75%, with ProShares and Valkyrie already leading the race, getting their approvals coming on Oct. 19 and Oct. 22, respectively.
Related:Bitcoin futures ETFs: Good, but not quite there
The U.S. set to lead in blockchain technologies
It’s also nice to note that even American lawmakers are buying Bitcoin. U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis disclosed that she scooped up the world’s largest cryptocurrency on Aug. 16, worth between $50,001 to $100,000.
Since the U.S. government won’t ban cryptocurrencies and American politicians are investing in them, it would be a good idea for all of us to reevaluate our investment portfolios and take a long look at Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) and other new blockchain technologies.
The U.S. is clearly signaling that it will embrace and regulate Bitcoin, blockchain technology and other cryptocurrencies, which from a geopolitical perspective, couldn’t have been more smart — positioning itself to receive massive foreign investment and attract the best talent on the planet. I expect to see the U.S. become the leader in decentralized finance over the coming years as regulators continue to work with the cryptocurrency community to build a sustainable and secure industry.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
Raymond Hsu is the co-founder and CEO at Cabital, a cryptocurrency wealth management platform. Prior to co-founding Cabital in 2020, Raymond worked for fintech and traditional banking institutions, including Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, eBay and Airwallex.
AMC Theatres, the largest movie theater chain in the world, is considering adding Shiba Inu (SHIB) as a way to pay for tickets.
On Friday, the CEO of the theatre chain, Adam Aron, put up a poll on Twitter asking the crypto community if they would be potentially interested in paying for movie tickets with Shiba Inu.
After acquiring some cinemas in 2016, AMC became the largest movie theater chain in the world. It has 2,866 screens in 358 theatres in Europe and 7,967 screens in 620 theatres in the United States.
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Shiba Inu – A Potential Means Of Payment
AMC Theatres is already in the process of integrating the payment options for movie tickets using Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, into its system. So this recent development is not really a surprise.
On Friday, Shiba Inu overtook Dogecoin to become the ninth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. With a market cap of $40,476,844,035, the meme coin was up 5.13% in the last 24 hours.
Related Reading | By The Numbers: What $1000 In SHIB Is Worth Now
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In the early hours of Friday, Aron took to his Twitter page to ask users if the company should accept online payments in Shiba Inu in addition to the other digital currencies that it’s working on.
TWITTER POLL #2: As you know, you can now purchase AMC gift cards using cryptocurrency, and our IT group is writing code so that soon we can accept online payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dogecoin among others. Should we strive to take Shiba Inu too?
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) October 29, 2021
The poll already has a significant number of interactions even though there are still four days left to vote. At the time of writing, 121,916 Twitter users have already voted. So far, 87% support the movie theater chain accepting SHIB, while 13% are opposed to the idea.
This is, however, not Aron’s first Twitter poll of this sort. The first poll, which was conducted in September, was about whether AMC Theatres should accept rival meme coin Dogecoin. That poll also attracted a lot of attention. And after the voting ended, Aron expressed his fascination with the number of interactions it garnered.
Among those who liked his tweet was Tesla CEO and dogecoin supporter Elon Musk.
AMC Theatres And Crypto
The multinational entertainment giant has been showing serious interest in blockchain technology recently.
Last week during an interview with CNBC, CEO Adam Aron discussed AMC’s crypto ambitions. He said, “We’ve made a lot of noise in the last few months about getting hyperactive in cryptocurrency.” He also discussed the possibility of issuing company-specific crypto.
Related Reading | Crypto Adoption Boosts Travel: Travala Rises From The Ashes
In August, the firm stated its intention to include Bitcoin payments for movie tickets into its infrastructure by the end of this year.
The following month, the theater giant expanded on those crypto payment options by including Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). According to Aron, moviegoers are keen to pay for their movies with crypto at AMC theatres. These new payment methods will also be available by the end of the year.
SHIB trading at $0.0000736 | Source: SHIBUSD on TradingView.com
Earlier this month, AMC added Dogecoin to the list of crypto payment options. However, this will be added in early 2022. The company also announced that users can now buy digital gift cards with Dogecoin and other cryptocurrencies using their BitPay wallets.
Huge news Dogecoin fans! As we work to accept online crypto payments, now you can buy @AMCTheatres digital gift cards (up to $200 per day) with Dogecoin and other cryptocurrency using a BitPay Wallet. Accepted on our web site, mobile app, and in theatres. https://t.co/hPubbeq4YG pic.twitter.com/dra7e23tc8
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) October 5, 2021
Last month, the CEO of AMC theatres also indicated its interest in minting commemorative movie tickets as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) during a CNBC interview.
Featured image by Financial Times, Chart by TradingView.com
