A look at the role played by crypto funds in providing essential capital and liquidity, propelling the growth and expansion of the crypto market.

After garnering the required votes, a major proposal has just passed in the KuCoin network. The proposal aimed at raising Terra Classic LUNC burns tax to 0.5%. 

Following the positive results, KuCoin declared increasing the LUNC network burn rate from 0.2% to the proposed 0.5%. 

LUNC Network Burn Tax Spikes On KuCoin

KuCoin took to Twitter to announce the increase in the burn tax. In its announcement, KuCoin stated that it would facilitate the Terra Classic LUNC and TerraClassicUSD (USTC) increase on its platform following the burn tax activation.

Notably, the activation will occur at the designated Terrra Classic block height of 12,902,399 and take effect on May 23. 

Once activated, KuCoin will pay users more for transactions involving the two crypto assets, LUNC and USTC. Apart from the increased payments, the burn rate tax will reduce LUNC supply. 

But theres still a downside to the increased burn rate tax as it will reduce the trading volume. This is why many exchanges rejected such proposals in the past. 

Notably, KuCoin has always supported such increases even when other exchanges delay. For instance, the exchange first supported a September 2022 Terra Classic burn tax of 1.2% even before the proposal passed.   

Other exchanges, including Crypto.com, MEXC, and Binance, only later declared support for the burn tax. 

But after the proposal passed, data implied that the increase reduced the trading volume for LUNC. Many investors stopped trading with the asset due to the spike in fees.

Following the outcome, the LUNC community voted to reduce the burn tax to 0.2%, attracting the support of crypto exchanges such as Binance. 

After the reduction, the Terra Classic community brought up another proposal to increase the burn tax rate, but it wasnt implemented. 

Latest Burn Tax Increase Proposal, 3 Others Gain Massive Support

While other proposals to increase the burn tax after reducing it from 1.2% to 0.2% failed due to several debates and arguments, the latest one received massive support.

<p>Amid the tussle between the bulls and bears in the crypto market over the past week, the circulating supply of both Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) has reached record lows, triggering speculation about the potential impact on the cryptocurrency market.</p> <p><a href= "https://twitter.com/santimentfeed/status/1659830319724519425?s=20" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Data</a> provided by Santiment reveals a significant decrease in the amount of BTC and ETH held on exchanges, suggesting a shift in investor behavior.</p> <h2>Bitcoin And Ethereum Supply Plummets On Exchanges</h2> <p>According to Santiments data, the circulating supply of <a href= "https://www.newsbtc.com/bitcoin-news/whale-alert-1750-bitcoin-btc-moved-to-exchange-massive-plunge-incoming/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">BTC on exchanges</a> currently stands at a mere 5.7%, marking its lowest level since December 2017 when the cryptocurrency surged to an all-time high of $20,000.</p> <p>Similarly, the supply of ETH on exchanges has dropped to 10.1%, the lowest since its inception in 2015. This trend indicates that crypto investors are actively buying and withdrawing their coins from exchanges, opting for alternative storage methods.</p> <p>Santiment tweeted earlier today:</p> <blockquote> <p>Bitcoin & Ethereum both continue to quietly see more and more of their existing supplies move into self custody. Though not a perfect indicator, declining coins on exchanges generally hint at future bull runs, given enough time playing out.

Notably, one key reason behind the declining supply of BTC and ETH on exchanges, particularly in the case of Ethereum, is the increasing popularity of staking. Ethereum 2.0s transition to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism has provided ETH holders with the opportunity to <a href= "https://www.newsbtc.com/news/ethereum-whale-resurfaces-after-2-years/?swcfpc=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">stake their coins</a> and participate in securing the network while earning rewards.</p> <p>Stakers lock up their ETH in specialized wallets, ensuring its active involvement in the networks operations rather than leaving it idle on exchanges. This shift towards staking is motivated by the desire to earn passive income and contribute to the long-term growth and security of the Ethereum ecosystem.</p> <p>On the other hand, the Bitcoin decrease on exchanges is not so clear, however, the possible reason can be attributed to investors looking to keep their BTC holdings for a long time. This could be due to the feared upcoming global recession which has made many turn to the idea of saving funds for the supposed rainy days.</p> <h2>Implications On The Crypto Market</h2> <p>The dwindling supply of Bitcoin and Ethereum on exchanges could have significant implications for the...

Learn how to maximize the benefits of cloud storage by organizing files, securing data and syncing across devices effectively.

The court case between SEC and Ripple Labs has been ongoing for nearly two and a half years, but a summary judgment ruling could be made any day.

The total value locked (TVL) on the Cardano blockchain has hit a significant milestone after crossing 500 million ADA. This would come just a month and a few days after TapTools predicted an exponential increase in the networks TVL.

In this prediction, TapTools, a Cardano portfolio tracker, also reported different factors that could be pivotal to Cardanos explosive growth in the coming months.

Cardano DeFi Ecosystem Hits 500 Million ADA In TVL

Data from DeFi TVL aggregator DefiLlama reveals that the total value locked on the Cardano network now stands at 505.114 million ADA. This is equivalent to $186.18 million when converted to U.S. dollars.

Source: DefiLlama

This new milestone represents a staggering 91.9% increase in total value locked since the turn of the year. Meanwhile, in the last month, Cardanos TVL has jumped by nearly 8%, indicating a steady adoption of its DeFi ecosystem.

On-chain data shows that Minswap is, by a distance, the leading protocol on the network, with a TVL of $55.56 million. In fact, the decentralized exchange boasts a market share dominance of 29.84%.

Minswap protocol is followed by Indigo, a collateralized debt protocol, with a total value of $28.5 million locked on it. WingRiders, Liqwid, and Djed Stablecoin are three other notable protocols on the Cardano DeFi ecosystem, with TVLs of $17.51 million, $15.42 million, and $13.71 million, respectively.

It is important to note that total value locked is a metric that estimates the amount of cryptocurrency locked in DeFi protocols on a particular blockchain. It is calculated by summing up the value of all the crypto assets locked in various DeFi protocols on a blockchain. TVL can be represented in the native token of a blockchain (as in ADA for Cardano) or in USD.

ADA Price Shows No Significant Action

A skyrocketing total value locked is often an indicator of increased activity in a DeFi ecosystem. However, Cardanos impressiv...

Injective (INJ) is one of the few tokens to have racked up impressive gains in the last week. While most of the assets in the crypto market were marked by insignificant price actions leading to little gains or losses, INJ stood out with an excellent price movement to become one of the biggest weekly gainers. 

According to data from CoinMarketCap, Injectives price gained by 19% in the last seven days boasting of a market performance only beaten by four other tokens RNDR, AGIX, MASK, and CFX in the entire top 100 crypto ranking. 

INJ initially began the week trading around a price region of $6.08 and soon recorded consecutive gains and losses before experiencing a price hike on May 17 to hit a market price of $6.7

Following this price boost, INJ showed signs of consolidation for the next two days before starting its current bullish run.

NFT Surprise Announcement Boosts INJ Price 

Interestingly, the price rally by INJ in the last week appears to be due to an exciting announcement made by the project developers six days ago.

On May 13, the team behind the Injective blockchain tweeted a statement urging the user community to interact more with dApps built on Injective or its L1 chain, stating there could be a chance to receive an NFT-related surprise.

It might be a good idea to interact with dApps built on Injective or the L1 chain itself.

Make a transfer, trade on a dex built on Injective, bridge assets, stake INJ, etc.

Who knows there might be an NFT related surprise in the works

Injective (@Injective_) May 13, 2023

This announcement sparked much excitement within the Injective community, which has been represented not just in price but also in the network activity. 

According to a tweet by @Iryna_Everstake, blockchain manager at network validator service Everstake pool, the Injective blockchain recorded a substantial increase in several network parameters over the last week as follows +688K INJ staked, +470 delegators, +130 new wallets, an...

Amid the prevailing bearish trend in the crypto market, XRP has stayed afloat above other assets with impressive gains. A report from a leading crypto market intelligence product provider, Messari, revealed the Ripple native currency XRP took the lead in the overall crypto market in Q1.

XRP Takes The Lead In Overall Crypto Market

According to data from Messari, XRP outperformed other crypto assets with a 55% surge on a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis. 

From the report, the market cap of XRP grew by a whopping 59.9% in the first quarter of the year. The value increased from $17.4 billion on January 1 to $27.4 billion on March 31.

Notably, the growth rate for XRPs market cap exceeded the cumulative crypto market cap that witnessed a 46% surge within the same period. 

Messaris report also showed that XRP kicked off the year with a trading price of $0.35 as of January 1. With the increasing volatility in the crypto market during the beginning of 2023, XRP rallied progressively through the days. As of January 23, XRPs price hit $0.43 before retracting due to the influence of the bears. The token closed in January with a 19.71% increase in value.

The second month wasnt quite eventful for XRP as the price gradually dipped to $0.36 amid the downtrend in the overall crypto market. However, XRP ended February with a 7.27% drop as the price hit $0.37.

Then XRPs price rally took a more aggressive look in March. The price of XRP ranged from the beginning of March. But it gained momentum from March 21 as XRP broke the resistance level at $0.400.

XRP sustained its volatility and pushed higher with a more bullish stance through the remaining days in March. The token rallied beyond the $0.500 region and progressed higher.

Messari noted that XRP hit a 10-month high of $0.5850 on March 29, following a two-week price surge of 56%. This price rally was peculiar to XRP, although most crypto assets posted a decline during t...

Three Arrows Capital is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings and owes an estimated $3.5 billion to creditors.

Chainlink has dropped slightly in the market today as bears seized control of its price. LINKs current price depicts a loss of 87.7% from its all-time high of $52.88 on May 10, 2021.

The asset has been fluctuating between the $6 and $7 price levels since the beginning of May and is currently at the $6 price level. LINK is also recording a sideways trend on the daily chart, and its trading volume has also tanked by over 32%. 

The recent price action is primarily influenced by macroeconomic factors such as inflation, regulatory laws and investor sentiment.

LINK Price Analysis

LINK is in a sideways trend today, forming a red candle on the daily chart. It is trading below its 50-day and 200-Simple Moving Averages (SMA), a short and long-term bearish sentiment.

Also, its Relative Strength Index (RSI) is at 41.30 and dropping out of the neutral zone to the oversold region of 30, confirming the bearish trend.

LINKs Moving Average Convergence/Divergence (MACD) is just above its signal line and shows convergence, a bearish signal. Also, the MACD indicator displays a negative value.

LINK is just above its nearest support level of $6.362, which has proved critical after the 6.177 price level provided initial support. However, its signals on the daily chart look bearish, hinting at a further price drop for the asset. However, if the bulls mount a rally, LINK will encounter resistance at the $6.753 and the $6.907 price levels.

LINK enjoyed a positive price movement in 2023. However, the bears are currently controlling the market. It will likely drop into an oversold region before the bulls rally again.

Recent Trends On LINKs Network Likely To Affect Its Price

NFTFi is a new concept combining NFTs and decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. It aims at adding value and liquidity to the growing NFT market.

Chainlink adopted this technological upgrade enablin...

The upcoming app will maintain a Twitter-like centralized feed, allowing users to view content such as text, images and videos shared by followers and recommended accounts.

The author didnt want to give away too many details on the book, but did note that his recounting of the FTX collapse aims to read like a piece of fiction.

Ledger Recover is an over-the-air firmware update allowing users to back up their seed phrases by third-party entities if they opt-in to the new service.

0.00010 BTC = 2.69 USD
1.00 USD = 0.00004 BTC
Converter

According to Strike CEO Jack Mallers, the expansion drive aims to counter the clouded world of crypto exchanges and hidden unregistered licensing regimes, and 1,000 different coins.

Promptly after the funds went missing, Swaprums Twitter, Telegram and GitHub accounts were all deleted; however, its website is still up.

NFTs from Sotheby's Grails Part 1. L: Autoglyph #187, R: Fidenza #725. (Larva Labs/Art Blocks, modified by CoinDesk)

Jack Mallers, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based bitcoin payment provider Strike, speaks Friday at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami Beach. (Frederick Munawa)

Ledgers decision to introduce a third party to your wallet seed phrase created an exploit that could appeal to both governments and hackers.

Shiba Inu remains one of the most popular meme coins but the performance of the cryptocurrency in the last year has been discouraging for holders. Despite remaining the second-largest meme coin, it has continued to decline in price and this has caused the asset to fall below very crucial support. And now that SHIB is now sitting at the $0.000008 level, is it a good time to buy the meme coin?

Shiba Inu Falls Below Critical Level

For Shiba Inu, the $0.000009 price level has served as good support for it through the ups and downs of the crypto market over the last year. This made it the most important point for bears to beat if they were to take control of the digital asset. However, over the last week, SHIB has fallen below $0.000009 which could present a good buying opportunity for the digital asset.

One reason why buying SHIB could be a good play right now is that the developments by the team are yet to reflect in the performance of the coin. Also, with the launch of the four new hubs in Shib: The Metaverse coming soon, the meme coin could see renewed interest and this interest could lead to a price rally.

The market has also been consolidating for a while with the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum trading sideways for the last week. Once this consolidation ends, the likelihood of these large assets rallying upward remains high. And as always, a rally in these top cryptocurrencies would pull the rest of the market up with it.

If Bitcoin were to move above $30,000 again, SHIB could go as high as $0.00001 once more, which would mean a more than 10% gain for investors in the short run. Over the long term, the gains could be higher, assuming that the market has not completely exited its bull trend.

SHIB Could Be A Breakout Star

The Shiba Inu team continues to rapidly develop the ecosystem and the latest in its long line of products is its SHIB-themed cold wallets. These wallets have been in the works for a while and the official SHIB handle confirmed on Twitter that the wallets will be ready for preorder on May 29. The wallets are being developed in partnership with Swiss company Tangem to allow users to hold more than 6,000 coins.

#SHIBARMY! @Tangem is about to unleash SHIB-themed cold wallets! These card-shaped vaul...

The bug only affects the Polygon implementation; v3 is unaffected.

Bakkts chief product officer, Dan OPrey, expressed his optimism about the future of Bitcoin and the companys outlook on regulated markets when he chatted with Cointelegraph at Bitcoin 2023.

The Central Market supplies over 12 million people per month in Argentina. The move will allow companies to accept and pay bills with USDT.

At Bitcoin 2023 in Miami Beach, global bitcoin payments service Strike announced that their service is now available in 65 more countries spread across six continents. This coincides with the introduction of the ability to receive funds in U.S. dollar equivalents, namely USDT. In addition, the app received a major facelift and overhaul that has made the UI cleaner, the UX friendlier and also includes a new logo.

Many of the countries that have been requested by users of Bitcoin Twitter are now able to instantly send and receive money utilizing the Lightning Network. In an interview with Strikes VP of Product, Manuela Rios, she explained that the app now has an effective reach of 3 billion people.

With Send Globally, the value prop is that you send dollars and receive as a local currency directly in a bank account on the other side this ones different what we found through user research that people on the other side in jurisdictions with weak currencies would say Hey this experience is amazing, but can I have a dollar equivalent?

In regards to purchasing Bitcoin, Rios said that globally, you dont see a seamless experience. So the new Strike app also functions as a Lightning wallet where you can buy and sell bitcoin via dollar equivalent rails.

At his speech at Bitcoin 2023, Strike CEO Jack Mallers explained the wider vision of the updates, saying "Were delivering a cash balance that the global south can rely on, and an awesome beautiful punk unconventional black and white brand, as the Fed is driving our own banks insolvent."

He also highlighted the companys response to feedback, displaying a set of tweets asking for LNURL support, shortly after announcing that the new app has LNURL support all usernames@strike.me function as a LNURL as of the launch.

We made a lot of product changes to support what we hope to become an amazing global money app, Mallers said. As a company, we know what were fighting for, we know who we are, we changed the way we looked, but we never changed the way we felt.

In addition to the new features and access, the app includes a simplified sign-up process in order to make signing up easier. The end goal for us is to serve 7-8 billion people, and well be stepping our way to make it to the countries that didnt make it in this MVP, Rios explained.

Rios explained the impact of the launch and additional features, saying that For the Bitcoiners, you can expect a beautiful Lightning wallet and a cost effective way to buy bitcoin, and for the people not yet so familiar with bitcoin, but are familiar with 109% inflation, giving them access to a U.S. dollar equivalent stablecoin is massive now you can save in something that wont be so quickly devalued.&nb...

Security expert Jameson Lopp said some users lost Ethereum tokens because of the lack of a secure storage method.

Seeing crypto and AI as unrelated technologies is a mistake. They are complementary, each improving the other, says CoinDesks Chief Content Officer, Michael Casey.

Best-selling author and journalist Michael Lewis, known for writing The Big Short, Moneyball and The Blind Side, offered his perspective on the current financial landscape and the rapidly-changing world of cryptocurrency on stage today at Bitcoin 2023.

When I first encountered the idea of being able to use the blockchain technology to disintermediate financial intermediaries, I thought, thank God, Lewis said of his realizations when first researching Bitcoin. There are lots of unnecessary hands touching money when financial transactions occur. They've just been kind of hard baked into the system.

As the author of The Big Short, Lewis outlined the fundamental inequalities and short-sighted policies of the contemporary financial system that led to the economic crisis of 2007 and 2008. At Bitcoin 2023, he acknowledged how Bitcoin is designed as an escape from the problems that caused that crisis.

If you go back to Satoshis original paper, you know, line one, paragraph two, you eliminate the need for a trusted financial intermediary, Lewis said. Clearly, the very beginning of the spirit of the enterprise is mistrust of existing financial institutions, well earned mistrust, on the backend of the financial crisis.

Across his books and news reporting, Lewis has been praised for his ability to condense complicated financial concepts into digestible prose and demonstrate systemic issues through the experiences of the individuals within them. This skillset makes him uniquely qualified to digest and interpret the emerging cryptocurrency ecosystem, which experienced unprecedented turmoil last year with the implosion of numerous crypto projects, most notably FTX.

At Bitcoin 2023, he discussed his next book and movie project, which will focus on FTX, and described some of the insight he gained from spending time with former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried before and after its collapse.

"Not in a million years did I think I was going to write about Sam Bankman-Fried," Lewis recalled, adding that he was first asked to meet with Bankman-Friend by a friend on Wall Street, and found himself intrigued by his unique personality. "There's so obviously the potential for a great movie in it... so you want to let people know it's out there."

Lewis was joined on stage by Arthur Hayes, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX. Hayes asked Lewis if he owned bitcoin, and Lewis quipped that it was in the FTX bankruptcy.

Hayes and Lewis also touched on the current banking crisis, with Lewis sharing the view that things have not really changed in the institutional system since 2008 that, if anything, things are worse for retail investors.

It seems inherently unstable right now, he said. You essentially created a handful of institutions that are too big to fail, and everyone knows their depo...

(Ryan Quintal/Unsplash, Modified by CoinDesk)

In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph at the Bitcoin Conference, Marathon Digital CEO Fred Thiel spoke about the mining companys response to the bear market.

Ethereum gas consumption landscape is transforming significantly as Non-Fungible Token (NFT) marketplaces no longer dominate the networks gas usage. According to a report by Nansen, a crypto analytics platform, NFTs have fallen behind in doing the most in Ethereum gas fees. 

Notably, while Ethereums transition to proof-of-stake, in an event known as The Merge, is anticipated to address high gas prices, investors are now exploring alternatives like Cardano, which boasts greater cost-efficiency following its recent Hydra upgrade.

Ethereums Gas Consumption Shift

According to data revealed by Nansen on Friday, theres currently a noteworthy shift in Ethereums gas consumption patterns. NFT marketplaces, which once held the top spot, now account for a mere 3% of total gas usage.

Surprisingly, decentralized exchange (DEX) Uniswap has emerged as the primary gas consumer, representing 31.99% of gas consumption. This shift indicates a diversification in Ethereums transactional activity and a reduction in NFT-related gas usage. Nansen noted:

Gone were the days of NFTs topping the Ethereum gas-consuming charts. This week, of the top 20 gas consumers, OpenSea and Blur accounted for less than 10% combined. And against all gas consumers, the NFT marketplaces were just over 3%. Uniswap in contrast was 10x more 31.99%.

This substantial decline in NFT-related gas consumption can be attributed to various factors, including the networks congestion caused by an influx of meme coin trading, notably the recently hyped frog-themed meme coin PEPE.

This surge in meme coin transactions resulted in heightened gas prices, prompting users to explore alternatives and alleviating the burden on NFT marketplaces.

Navigating the Gas Crisis

Ethereums gas crisis has persisted despite The Merge, which is said to enhance scalability and reduce gas fees by migrating the network to a proof-of-stake consensus model. In response, some investors have sought solace in blockchain platforms offering cost-efficient alternatives.

With its recent Hydra upgrade, Cardano has gained attention for its ability to handle transactions more economically. The implementation of Hydra&...

Former congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard addressed the audience at Bitcoin 2023 today, focusing on the institutional problems with U.S. politics and elected leaders who seek to consolidate power rather than serve constituents.

I served in Congress for eight years and ran for president in 2020, and while we like to have this idea that we have great courageous leaders in Washington unfortunately, thats not the case, Gabbard said. Ultimately, theyre driven by a fear of losing power and losing control and, at the heart of it, theyre afraid of us. Theyre afraid of a free society.

In particular, she highlighted the Biden administrations exploration of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), underscoring how such a project would be antithetical to the privacy- and freedom-preserving qualities of cash transactions. As outlined in its white paper by Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System, Bitcoin was designed to preserve these qualities in a digital way.

The Biden administrations move toward implementing a central bank digital currency is their latest effort towards exerting control and taking away our freedom, Gabbard said. No matter how many flowery words they use to deny that there is ill intent no matter how many times they say, Hey this is for your own good... But ultimately, we know this is about their insatiable mission and desire for total control.

She also suggested that those in power are combative toward or disinterested in Bitcoin because it cannot be manipulated by any third parties.

You would think they would be interested in how Bitcoin is transforming the lives of people around the world, but they dont actually care about people, she said.

A proposal to unify branding between the Mantle network and BitDAO passed with overwhelming support.

The total value locked in DeFi protocols fell below $50 billion after nearly a month of bullish price action.

The recovery in Bitcoin and most major altcoins halted near respective overhead resistance levels, indicating that the bears are active at higher levels.

According to court documents shared by James Filan, the Hinman materials will likely be unsealed by June 13.

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

(Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

The Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) industry has been a hub of innovation and growth over the past year, but as it approaches the midway point of 2023, the market is showing signs of maturation and change. According to a recent report by DappRadar, NFT sales could fall below $1 billion for the first time this year.

NFT Market Facing Headwinds

According to the report, the NFT market shows signs of a potential shift in May 2023, with the trading volume reaching $333 million from $2.3 million in sales, a trend that may result in the first month of this year with a trading volume under $1 billion.

Despite this decline in sales, the NFT industry is still showing strong activity and engagement, with daily unique active wallets (dUAW) linked to NFT activities reaching 173,000, marking a 27% increase from the previous month.

However, the NFT market is facing significant challenges, with many traders selling their large NFT holdings at a loss to participate in the Memecoin frenzy, according to DappRadar. This has led to an uptick in on-chain activity, driving Ethereums gas fees above $100 and negatively impacting the volume of low-value NFT trades on the blockchain.

Despite this, the NFT market is still experiencing significant developments and events. Elon Musks tweet on May 10, 2023, referencing the Milady Maker collection, fueled a trading volume spike, reaching $13.95 million and doubling the number of trades in the same week. 

Additionally, the Pudgy Penguins project secured $9 million in seed funding, debuting the Pudgy Toys collection, which amassed a total trading volume of $7.89 million the following week.

Furthermore, the top ten NFT sales reveal stalwarts like the Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks dominating the NFT landscape. However, a new entrant has emerged in the sixth position an ADA handle, a personal crypto domain on the ADA blockchain, sold for $182,089, equivalent to 500,000 ADA. 

The researchers built on their separate projects to demonstrate cross-border payments using illiquid currencies with an intermediate vehicle currency.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made his first public appearance as a presidential candidate at the Bitcoin 2023 conference today, sharing his own experiences with Bitcoin, warning about how technology is enabling government totalitarianism around the world and describing how he would protect the rights of Bitcoiners if elected president.

As president, I will make sure that your right to hold and use bitcoin is inviolable, Kennedy said. "I am an ardent defender and lifelong defender of civil liberties and Bitcoin is both an exercise and a guarantee of those freedoms.

Kennedy told the crowd that he was first inspired by Bitcoin as a critical freedom technology after learning about how it was used to circumvent financial restrictions during the Canadian trucker protest last year.

None of these lawful and peaceful protestors had violated any law But suddenly, they found that they could not access their money, their bank accounts to pay their mortgages or feed their families, he recalled. When I witnessed this devastating use of government repression, I realized for the first time how free money is as important as free expression.

Kennedy has publicly expressed his support for Bitcoin since May 2023, acknowledging its separation from other cryptocurrencies and indicating that legislators should support its development rather than hinder it, as with regulations like the Biden administrations proposed tax on energy used by miners. On stage, he reinforced his distaste for such regulations and he outlined the steps his administration would take to drive Bitcoin innovation in the U.S.

"First, I will defend the right of self custody of bitcoin and other digital assets," he said. Second, I will uphold the right to run a node at home Third, I will defend use-neutral, industry-neutral regulation of energy Fourth, I will make sure that the United States remains the global hub of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies I will reverse the governments growing hostility toward this industry.

Finally, he said that he would look closely at whether individuals like Ross Ulbricht, the founder of darknet, bitcoin-based marketplace Silk Road who received a double life sentence in 2013, were prosecuted for actual crimes, or as a means to crackdown on crypto.

I will consider pardoning them and I will act very quickly to do so, Kennedy added.

Kennedy launched his Democratic primary bid shortly before...

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis joined Chamber of Digital Commerce CEO Perianne Boring on stage at Bitcoin 2023 in Miami for a lengthy discussion on regulation.

It is the first political campaign in U.S. history to accept Bitcoin donations.

The Web5 toolkit aspires to put the control of data and identity into the hands of users.

A Litecoin sticker near the Hotel Europa in Davos, Switzerland. (Nikhilesh De/CoinDesk)

Canadian regulators are providing more clarity than their U.S. counterparts. (Chris Robert/Unsplash)

The debate is raging inside Hector Network ( / Getty Images)

The deal was announced in April and approved by the bankruptcy judge on May 4.

Ledger CEO Pascal Gauthier at Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal. (Harry Murphy/Web Summit via Sportsfile)

(CoinGeko)

Security is really the precursor to mass adoption and scalability," Alex Zinder, global head of hardware wallet maker Ledger Enterprises said, on CoinDesk TVs First Mover," show. (Hendrik Morkel via Unsplash)

In the latest Cointelegraph Report, we assessed the risk of a possible debt default in the U.S., and the impact of the debt ceiling crisis on crypto and the broader market.

According to the latest report by the research firm, Messari, the XRP Ledger (XRPL) saw a significant surge in activity during the first quarter of 2023. The daily active addresses and daily transactions increased by 13.9% and 10.7% QoQ, respectively.

XRPs price also showed an impressive increase of 56% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ), from $0.35 to $0.54. This price increase outpaced the total crypto market cap in the same period, largely due to positive news regarding the ongoing case between Ripple and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

 XRP Ledger Network Activity Soars

The XRP Ledger is a blockchain network operational for over a decade. It is known for its fast and energy-efficient cross-border payment capabilities, among other features.

It offers a variety of native capabilities, including Issued Currencies, a decentralized exchange, escrow functionality, and token management. These features allow the XRPL to execute many of the same functions as other networks, even though it does not support smart contracts.

The chart above shows that the XRPL has seen a significant increase in overall network activity metrics in Q1. Daily active addresses and transactions increased by 13.9% and 10.7%, respectively. The increase in total active addresses was largely due to receiving addresses growing by 17.1% from 47,000 to 55,000. However, sending addresses decreased by 7.2% QoQ, further separating the metric from receiving addresses.

Despite 141,000 accounts being deleted in Q1, the total addresses increased. This is because, unlike many other blockchain networks, the XRPL allows accounts to be deleted to reclaim the deposit of XRP escrowed during account creation. This escrow incentivizes to delete of accounts, and the total address metric has more significance.

According to the report, the XRPL applies deflationary pressure to the total supply of 100 billion XRP through transaction fee burning. However, only around 10 million XRP have been burned since the XRPLs inception. To counteract this burn rate, 1 billion XRP vests to Ripple per month. Any XRP not spent or distributed by Ripple in that month is returned to escrow. This sy...

Court Lawsuit Judge Legal (Shutterstock)

The service provides code to scammers that allows them to drain wallets using token approval phishing methods.

The SEC has proposed changes to the Custody Rule for assets, which has ramifications for crypto. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Warren Jenson (provided)

(Axie Infinity)

Deadfellaz NFT (DFZ Labs)

Antoni Gauds Casa Batll in Barcelona, Spain (6529 Fund)

BTC price action destabilizes as markets watch Fed Chair Jerome Powells language for hints of policy change.

Litecoin (Litecoin Foundation)

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Governor of the Indonesian Province of West Java, Ridwan Kamil and prominent Bitcoin global advocate and JAN3 CEO Samson Mow, revealed in a fireside chat titled "The Indonesia Bitcoin Mining Campaign" that the government of Indonesia is researching various ways in which bitcoin adoption in the country could benefit its people.

Governor Kamil explained the specific environment that makes Indonesia a potential major player in the bitcoin mining space, saying [Indonesia has] the second most geothermal potential in the world more than 800 rivers with hydropower. As bitcoin allows the transformation of energy into money, bitcoin could be transformative for indonesia

He also explained that the country is already on a steady path towards adoption, with more than 12 million cryptocurrency investors, 70% of which are invested in bitcoin. According to Governor Kamil, this number grows by half a million a year.

In addition, the Governor touched on how bitcoin could bring financial technology to people in his country who currently do not have access to that. Bitcoin is a solution in my opinion to unbankable parts of my society, he explained. 40% of my people are unbankable.

Another topic touched on was the recent introduction of an Omnibus bill that allows for 100% foreign investment into renewable energy projects above 1 MW. This bill could lead to increased investment and attention in the region. Come to indonesia, lets have this big reserve of renewable energy dedicated to the bitcoin mining business, Governor Kamil said.

Mow touched on the opportunity at hand for Indonesia, saying that The first [countries] that adopt bitcoin in a meaningful way will have a big advantage. Afterwards, Governor Kamil inquired about the way that El Salvadors bitcoin bonds function. Mow replied that The bonds can finance the buildout of new energy infrastructure Indonesia could have a volcano bond too.

Overall, the talk indicated that Governor Kamil is cautiously optimistic, and that he sees bitcoin as a potential game changer for the economy of his country and the livelihood of his people. As a country with access to major amounts of renewable energy and large portions of the population unbanked, it is seemingly ripe for bitcoin adoption.

"The new generation is buying Bitcoin as a reserve," Governor Kamil concluded. Hopefully Indonesia will be a Bitcoin heaven in the future."

Bitwage, a leading provider of Bitcoin payroll and invoicing, has introduced a solution that allows employers to seamlessly connect their payroll providers to Bitwage's service. This development simplifies and ensures compliance for workers who wish to receive a percentage of their paycheck in Bitcoin, stablecoins or USD. Notably, this solution is compatible with various payroll providers, including ADP, Paychex, Paycom, Gusto, Trinet and many others.

According to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, what sets Bitwage apart is its non-custodial experience, ensuring that employees receive their payments directly into the wallet of their choice, maximizing security and minimizing risk.

To implement this solution, companies need to sign up on the Bitwage platform and connect their payroll provider through the Bitwage Automated Connection. From there, Bitwage creates a custom, post-tax benefit on the payroll provider's portal, allowing employees to opt-in. Employees can then choose the amount they wish to be deducted from their paycheck and distributed through Bitwage.

With each pay cycle, Bitwage automatically generates a payroll for each employee based on their payroll preferences, extracting the necessary data directly from the payroll system. Employees can receive their payments directly into their preferred Bitcoin, crypto or stablecoin wallet or even as their local currency into their bank accounts.

Bitwage's CEO, Jonathan Chester, emphasized their mission to enable workforces to be paid in their preferred method, whether it's bitcoin or fiat. We recognize that crypto can be scary for employers, so to enable this mission, we are building out fully compliant solutions and removing the complexities and custodial risk of crypto from the equation, Chester said.

The TBD announcement was made at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami. (Frederick Munawa)

Lido (LDO), the leading liquid staking derivatives (LSD) protocol, recently made waves in the crypto community by enabling staked ETH (stETH) withdrawals. Expectations were high as many anticipated a surge in stakers unstaking their ETH.

However, contrary to these predictions, Lido has witnessed a remarkable increase in ETH deposits, reaching a record-breaking level. This surge has also been reflected in the protocols native token which has recorded a rally of more than 20% in the past week.

ETH Deposits Soar to New All-Time High

Despite the introduction of stETH withdrawals, Lido experienced a surge in ETH deposits, defying expectations of widespread unstaking. On Friday, the platform witnessed a significant milestone as the total number of ETH deposited hit an all-time high.

According to data provided by Lido, an astounding 6,373,289 ETH is currently staked with Lido, equivalent to more than $11.5 billion. Interestingly, while ETH deposits on Lido continue to soar, stETH withdrawals have remained stagnant around the 450,000 ETH mark, as reported by data from Nansen.

It is worth noting that these withdrawal requests have yet to be processed, contributing to the overall stability of stETH withdrawals. This trend raises questions about the anticipated unstaking frenzy, prompting a closer examination of the factors influ...

(Ripple Labs)

Lule Demmissie, CEO of eToro US, says that the new partnership with Twitter creates a symbiosis between social networks and social trading.

Bitcoin has now dipped below the $27,000 level as on-chain data shows the miners have possibly been selling the asset recently.

Bitcoin Miner Reserve Has Taken A Sharp Plummet Recently

As pointed out by an analyst in a CryptoQuant post, miners have taken out about 1,750 BTC from their wallets during the past day. The relevant indicator here is the miner outflow, which measures the total amount of Bitcoin that miners are transferring out of their wallets currently.

The counterpart metric of the outflow is called the inflow, and it naturally tracks the total number of coins going into the addresses of these blockchain validators.

Here is a chart that shows the trend in the Bitcoin miner outflow, as well as the inflow, over the last few weeks:

Whenever the miner inflow has a high value, it means that this cohort is depositing a large amount of Bitcoin into their wallets. Such a trend, when prolonged, can be a sign that the miners are accumulating right now. Naturally, this can have bullish implications for the price.

When the outflow is high, on the other hand, it suggests that a large amount of the asset is exiting from the supply of the miners. Generally, the main reason why these holders transfer their coins out of their wallets is for selling-related purposes, so this kind of trend can be bearish for the cryptocurrencys value.

In the above graph, its visible that the miner inflow has been at relatively low values during the past day, implying that these investors arent depositing any significant amounts to their wallets.

The miner outflow, however, has registered a pretty high spike in the same period. In total, around 1,750 BTC ($47 million) has exited the supply of the miners with this surge in the indicator.

Since there havent been any inflows to counteract these outflows, a net amount of the asset has now left the miners wallets. This would mean that if the outflows were made for selling purposes, a net bearish effect should appear on the price.

An indicator that helps better identify whether these transfers were for selling or not is the ...

Fed Chair Jay Powell (Kevin Dietsch/Staff/GettyImages/PhotoMosh)

The ParaSpace CEO and consultants accused each other of mismanaging funds, with the ParaSpace team asking the CEO to step down publically.

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Nodes are key to run transactions on a blockchain. (Omar Flores)

Bitcoin advocate Joe Hall believes that all other cryptocurrency projects will collapse into Bitcoin in the coming years.

Bitcoin price could drop to $20,000 in Q3 amid mounting worries about a potential cash liquidity crisis led by the U.S. Treasury Department.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has recently caught the attention of investors as its chart reflects a significant surge in capital inflows and buying pressure. These developments have left many speculators wondering if this positive momentum will be sufficient to initiate a much-anticipated price rebound. 

With increased interest and activity surrounding Shiba Inu, all eyes are now focused on whether this surge in support will ultimately lead to a revitalization of the cryptocurrencys fortunes.

Shiba Inu Price Consolidation And Increased Capital Inflows

Shiba Inu, over the past few days, has witnessed relatively low volatility on higher timeframe price charts. From May 8 onwards, its price has oscillated within a range of $0.00000832 and $0.00000914, indicating a period of consolidation.

At the time of writing, CoinGecko reflects Shiba Inus price at a mere $0.00000871. In the past 24 hours, the cryptocurrency experienced a slight slump of 1.4%. The meme coin was up a very modest 0.3% over the course of the last seven days.

Despite the recent price consolidation, the daily charts CMF (Chaikin Money Flow) and RSI (Relative Strength Index) have shown notable upward movements in the past few days. The CMF suggests increased capital inflows, while the RSI indicates rising buying pressure.

SHIB Potential Rally Based On Fib Retracement, Market Conditions

To analyze the potential price movement of Shiba Inu, traders have utilized the Fibonacci retracement tool by placing it between the swing high of the first quarter (Q1) and the lows observed in December. This tool helps identify crucial levels based on the Fibonacci sequence.

If the current trend in SHIB continues and the overall macro environment conditions continue to improve, there is a possibility of a rally. This rally could lead SHIB to reach the 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level, which stands at approximately $0.00000967.

Fibonacci retracement levels are commonly used in technical analysis to identify potential support and resistance levels based on the historica...

Water drop ripple (Claudia Wollesen/Pixabay)