Thursday, 28 January 2021

Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink

Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink

Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink

The oracle platform got one of its biggest political endorsements yesterday. It didn’t even have to pay for it.

Chainlink adoption

Hillary Schieve, the mayor of Reno, Nevada, pushed for the adoption of oracle protocol Chainlink in a tweet yesterday. She became one of the first-ever politicians to publicly endorse the platform.

Absolutely come to @CityofReno! Let us show you around @EDAWNReno with @douglas_erwin

Sorry @FrancisSuarez you should have bought $LINK
still a gift 1000EOY

PS: Our skiing is also epic today in @renotahoe https://t.co/4s1jFnc39c

— Mayor Hillary Schieve (@MayorSchieve) January 27, 2021

Chainlink is the world’s biggest oracle provider, with its settlement token LINK valued at over $9.4 billion as of press time. Oracles are third-party data tools that fetch data from outside a blockchain to within it, as blockchains can not—by design—verify the authenticity of the incoming data even though they are immutable stores of data. 

Using Chainlink helps avoid this. The oracle service fetches data from multiple providers to provide a single, synchronized feed to clients and users. Doing so allows other applications to work seamlessly without depending on a single (or doctored) data supplier.

And it’s a project that Schieve is now endorsing. She said in a tweet yesterday, “The time is now to work on great projects for Nevada. $LINK,” a statement that affirmed some earlier tweets which suggested that she even held LINK tokens.

Chainlink can find many use cases in Reno. ChainLinkGod, an early-adopter of Chainlink and a popular community ambassador, noted that apart from oracle usage for weather, health, and traffic (replying in the affirmative to another tweet), a potential Chainlink node could be used towards maintaining a record of the local government.

The anonymous frog said:

“A Reno Chainlink node could also provide an immutable record of all government actions, increasing transparency and community trust in the information.”

Exactly, there is an entire world of data waiting to be brought on-chain, a Reno Chainlink node could also provide an immutable record of all government actions, increasing transparency and community trust in the information

— ChainLinkGod.eth (@ChainLinkGod) January 27, 2021

Crypto friendly politicians in the US

The brief discussion wasn’t sudden for Schieve, who has remained the Reno mayor since 2014 as an independent candidate. She has previously called for the betterment of society using technology and even opened up to crypto donations before her reelection campaign in 2018.

Meanwhile, Scheive’s endorsement for Chainlink wasn’t the only crypto story to have emerged from a politician. Elsewhere in Miami, city major Francis Suarez uploaded the Bitcoin whitepaper to the city’s government site, becoming the first US local government to do so.

The City of Miami believes in #Bitcoin and I’m working day and night to turn Miami into a hub for crypto innovation.

Proud to say Miami is the first municipal government to host Satoshi’s White Paper on government site. @balajis @tyler @cameron @APompliano pic.twitter.com/DBOni23ynY

— Mayor Francis Suarez (@FrancisSuarez) January 27, 2021

The file was uploaded in response to an ongoing legal campaign by Craig Wright, the co-founder of Bitcoin SatoshiVision who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin (he has failed to provide any conclusive proof of these claims thus far).

As CryptoSlate reported last week, Wright is taking down Bitcoin whitepapers hosted on several websites by claiming it to be his property. In response, several influential figures, such as Suarez (and later even Schieve) , have uploaded the Bitcoin whitepaper on their own sites.

The post Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink appeared first on CryptoSlate.

Title: Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink
Sourced From: cryptoslate.com/reno-nevada-mayor-hillary-schieve-pushes-the-government-to-adopt-chainlink/
Published Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2021 13:36:43 +0000

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Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink


Reno, Nevada Mayor Hillary Schieve pushes the government to adopt Chainlink was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/29/reno-nevada-mayor-hillary-schieve-pushes-the-government-to-adopt-chainlink/

Why a trader says Bitcoin is short-term bearish despite holding $30K

Why a trader says Bitcoin is short-term bearish despite holding $30K

Why a trader says Bitcoin is short-term bearish despite holding $30K

A pseudonymous trader known as “Byzantine General” is short-term bearish as Bitcoin (BTC) continues to test the same $30,000 support area.

Although the price of Bitcoin is staying above a key support level, the trader said the price action is not bullish. He wrote:

“In the midst of all this chaos, here’s a bitcoin chart. Not much to do. It’s bearish no matter how you look at it. But we’re sitting on support, so no swing short opportunity either… It’s just waiting now. > YO needs to hold.”

“Options market is signaling a short-term bearish view”

Analysts see a similar trend from the options market and previous Bitcoin fractals. Fractals are technical candle chart patterns that analysts typically use to compare the current price action of Bitcoin to previous cycles.

According to analysts at the data analytics company Laevitas, the options market signals are short-term bearish view. They said:

“As Bitcoin consolidation continues, put/call ratio on @DeribitExchange is at 2 today. In last 24h, seeing decent buy volume on 26MAR 9000p, 13000p and 14000p. Options market is signaling a short-term bearish view.”

Bitcoin options traded instruments. Source: Laevitas

The options market has a larger impact on the price trend of Bitcoin now than before because the open interest is now hovering above $3 billion.

There are significantly more active options contracts and options traders compared to before. This means that if there is selling pressure coming from the options market, it would likely have a negative impact on the price of Bitcoin.

Based on the fractal that analysts at “Material Scientist” found, both historical price cycles and the options market data hint at a short-term consolidation phase. The analysts noted:

“Next fractal for #BTC – 10-day prediction: Low 30ks retest and then send it!”

BTC/USDT fractal. Source: Material Indicators

Consider the high miner position index

One of the possible reasons why the price of Bitcoin continues to range and stagnate could be the high selling pressure coming from miners.

Data from CryptoQuant shows that the Miners’ Position Index is relatively high, which means miners are depositing Bitcoin to exchanges.

Since miners are one of the few external and unmatched sources of selling pressure in the Bitcoin market, a high Miners’ Position Index usually precedes a sell-off.


Bitcoin Miners’ Position Index. Source: CryptoQuant

On Jan. 26, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju said:

“BTC Miners’ Position Index hit the 8-year high. They’ve been moving an unusual amount of Bitcoins lately. It seems they’re continuously realizing profits since 42k. This is one of the reasons why I keep my bearish bias.”

As long as the options market is leaning towards a bearish short-term trend and miners continue to sell BTC, the price of Bitcoin is unlikely to break out in the near term.

However, the $34,000 resistance level remains the key area in the foreseeable future. If Bitcoin surges above it, there is a chance for a quick trend reversal to the upside.

Title: Why a trader says Bitcoin is short-term bearish despite holding $30K
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/why-a-trader-says-bitcoin-is-short-term-bearish-despite-holding-30k
Published Date: Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:01:32 +0000

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Why a trader says Bitcoin is short-term bearish despite holding $30K


Why a trader says Bitcoin is short-term bearish despite holding $30K was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/why-a-trader-says-bitcoin-is-short-term-bearish-despite-holding-30k/

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15

Uniswap’s decentralized exchange has emerged as one of the critical pieces in the decentralized finance sector, with the DEX benefiting from the first-mover advantage after it became the go-to exchange for new projects and traders in 2020. 

In late 2020, 400 UNI tokens were distributed to all wallet addresses that previously provided liquidity on the platform at at its peak thhe impromptu airdrop was worth north of $3,500.

By late October of 2020 the DeFi market has sold-off sharply and this pinned UNI price below the $4.00 mark for weeks but since the start of 2021, UNI token has gained 335% and reached a new all-time high at $15.35 on Jan. 27.


UNI/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

At the moment, the driving forces behind the rise in the price of UNI are an increase in daily volume transacted on the platform, the rise in the platform’s total value locked, and the roll-out of governance features as the Uniswap v3 launch approaches.

Total value locked continues to rise

Monitoring the total value locked (TVL) of a DeFi protocol is one of the primary metrics used to determine its legitimacy and how involved the community.

A rising TVL indicates that users of the platform trust the platform enough to deposit their funds to earn rewards and it typically means that the liquidity pools are more competitive than other exchanges in the sector.

The Uniswap platform recently established a new all-time high TVL of $3.16 billion on Jan. 24, and this was boosted by an increase in the price of many of the top cryptocurrencies as well as popular DeFi tokens.


Total value locked in Uniswap. Source: Defi Pulse

Uniswap is now the top-ranked DEX in terms of TVL, and when it comes to lending the platform ranks fourth as Maker (MKR), AAVE and Compound (COMP) lead in this area.

Uniswap’s trading volume competes with the top centralized exchanges

A second driver of UNI’s recent surge is the sharp rise in trading volume on the exchange.

Data from Uniswap shows the DEX’s daily volume is consistently above $400 million since the beginning of 2021 and the metric surged to a new high at $1.3 billion on Jan. 11. This level of volume now places Uniswap in competition with some of the top centralized exchanges in cryptocurrency.


Uniswap 24-hour volume. Source: Uniswap

Transactions on Uniswap also surpass those of its direct competitors and data from Dune Analytics shows that in early 2019 the main competitors were Kyber Network and IDEX.


Monthly DEX volume. Source: Dune Analytics

Since that time the number of DEXs has continued to expand but by March of 2020 Uniswap had established itself as the preferred choice for traders and it has remained the dominant DEX into 2021.

Excitement surrounding the v3 rollout bolsters UNI price

While many airdrop recipients were elated to sell their tokens shortly after receiving them, those who chose to hold on to them now have the ability to receive extra benefits with the addition of governance features.

The Uniswap Treasury currently has $500 million in it and recently Uniswap founder Hayden Adams asked the community “what are some of the most impactful ways governance can allocate this UNI?”

As the list of delegates for the Uniswap platform continues to grow, demand for UNI token is likely to increase as more UNI are locked on the platform for governance purposes.

Excitement around the upcoming Uniswap v3.0 continues to build and in addition to new governance features, solutions for the high gas fees and improvements to the impermanent loss structure are expected.

com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Title: 3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/3-reasons-why-uniswap-uni-token-hit-a-new-all-time-high-above-15
Published Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:30:00 +0000

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3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15


3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15 was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/3-reasons-why-uniswap-uni-token-hit-a-new-all-time-high-above-15-2/

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15

Uniswap’s decentralized exchange has emerged as one of the critical pieces in the decentralized finance sector, with the DEX benefiting from the first-mover advantage after it became the go-to exchange for new projects and traders in 2020. 

In late 2020, 400 UNI tokens were distributed to all wallet addresses that previously provided liquidity on the platform at at its peak thhe impromptu airdrop was worth north of $3,500.

By late October of 2020 the DeFi market has sold-off sharply and this pinned UNI price below the $4.00 mark for weeks but since the start of 2021, UNI token has gained 335% and reached a new all-time high at $15.35 on Jan. 27.


UNI/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView

At the moment, the driving forces behind the rise in the price of UNI are an increase in daily volume transacted on the platform, the rise in the platform’s total value locked, and the roll-out of governance features as the Uniswap v3 launch approaches.

Total value locked continues to rise

Monitoring the total value locked (TVL) of a DeFi protocol is one of the primary metrics used to determine its legitimacy and how involved the community.

A rising TVL indicates that users of the platform trust the platform enough to deposit their funds to earn rewards and it typically means that the liquidity pools are more competitive than other exchanges in the sector.

The Uniswap platform recently established a new all-time high TVL of $3.16 billion on Jan. 24, and this was boosted by an increase in the price of many of the top cryptocurrencies as well as popular DeFi tokens.


Total value locked in Uniswap. Source: Defi Pulse

Uniswap is now the top-ranked DEX in terms of TVL, and when it comes to lending the platform ranks fourth as Maker (MKR), AAVE and Compound (COMP) lead in this area.

Uniswap’s trading volume competes with the top centralized exchanges

A second driver of UNI’s recent surge is the sharp rise in trading volume on the exchange.

Data from Uniswap shows the DEX’s daily volume is consistently above $400 million since the beginning of 2021 and the metric surged to a new high at $1.3 billion on Jan. 11. This level of volume now places Uniswap in competition with some of the top centralized exchanges in cryptocurrency.


Uniswap 24-hour volume. Source: Uniswap

Transactions on Uniswap also surpass those of its direct competitors and data from Dune Analytics shows that in early 2019 the main competitors were Kyber Network and IDEX.


Monthly DEX volume. Source: Dune Analytics

Since that time the number of DEXs has continued to expand but by March of 2020 Uniswap had established itself as the preferred choice for traders and it has remained the dominant DEX into 2021.

Excitement surrounding the v3 rollout bolsters UNI price

While many airdrop recipients were elated to sell their tokens shortly after receiving them, those who chose to hold on to them now have the ability to receive extra benefits with the addition of governance features.

The Uniswap Treasury currently has $500 million in it and recently Uniswap founder Hayden Adams asked the community “what are some of the most impactful ways governance can allocate this UNI?”

As the list of delegates for the Uniswap platform continues to grow, demand for UNI token is likely to increase as more UNI are locked on the platform for governance purposes.

Excitement around the upcoming Uniswap v3.0 continues to build and in addition to new governance features, solutions for the high gas fees and improvements to the impermanent loss structure are expected.

com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Title: 3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/3-reasons-why-uniswap-uni-token-hit-a-new-all-time-high-above-15
Published Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2021 23:30:00 +0000

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Join Thousands of Early Adopters Just Like You Who Want to Grow Capital and Truly Understand Cryptocurrency Together

3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15


3 reasons why Uniswap (UNI) token hit a new all-time high above $15 was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/3-reasons-why-uniswap-uni-token-hit-a-new-all-time-high-above-15/

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

The adventures of the inventive Alex Mashinky 

The adventures of the inventive Alex Mashinky 

The adventures of the inventive Alex Mashinky 


Title: The adventures of the inventive Alex Mashinky 
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/magazine/2021/01/27/the-adventures-of-the-inventive-alex-mashinky
Published Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2021 18:43:17 +0000

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The adventures of the inventive Alex Mashinky 


The adventures of the inventive Alex Mashinky  was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/28/the-adventures-of-the-inventive-alex-mashinky/

Dutch Bitcoin exchange drags central bank to court over wallet KYC rule

Dutch Bitcoin exchange drags central bank to court over wallet KYC rule

Dutch Bitcoin exchange drags central bank to court over wallet KYC rule

Dutch Bitcoin exchange platform, Bitonic, has filed a preliminary injunction at a Rotterdam court seeking the suspension of a wallet verification rule enacted by the central bank.

Back in November 2019, De Nederlandsche Bank, or DNB, mandated crypto exchanges to ensure their users comply with stringent Know Your Customer protocols. These rules included verification steps for withdrawal wallets, which Bitonic called a nuisance.

At the time, Bitonic was only one of three licenses granted by the DNB out of 38 applications to the central banks by crypto exchanges. Indeed, 25 out of 38 applicants also sent a joint letter to the DNB asking for greater clarity about the need for such stringent compliance protocols.

According to the company’s announcement, the DNB has reportedly failed to address concerns raised by Bitonic over the controversial KYC rule. The exchange also revealed that an independent compliance firm recently provided expert advice on the matter stating that the central bank’s actions lacked any legal merit.

For Bitonic, the introduction of sweeping wallet verification protocol violates existing customer privacy laws. “We believe it is of crucial importance that a judge considers DNB’s position so that it becomes clear whether the requirements are legitimate,” the company added in its announcement.

Commenting on the goal of the lawsuit, the Bitonic announcement reads:

“Our objective is to be able to quickly halt the comprehensive processing of personal data imposed on us. We want to return to the situation where we ourselves determine, on a risk-based basis, whether we ask the customer to prove his management of the wallet.”

A spokesperson for Bitonic told Cointelegraph that the company regrets being forced to seek redress with the courts but the action was necessary given the DNB’s reticence to engage in dialogue over the issues. The Bitonic representative also revealed that other exchanges have expressed support for legal action:

“We do not know if similar proceedings are prepared by other parties, but trust that the court will recognize the broader relevance for not just the crypto-industry but also its customers.”

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the additional KYC requirements are causing dissatisfaction among some crypto traders in the country. Bitstamp has come in for some criticism over the exchange’s perceived lack of pushback against the DNB’s policies.

The DNB did not reply immediately to Cointelegraph’s request for comment. 

Title: Dutch Bitcoin exchange drags central bank to court over wallet KYC rule
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/dutch-bitcoin-exchange-drags-central-bank-to-court-over-wallet-kyc-rule
Published Date: Wed, 27 Jan 2021 11:15:07 +0000

Dutch Bitcoin exchange drags central bank to court over wallet KYC rule


Dutch Bitcoin exchange drags central bank to court over wallet KYC rule was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/27/dutch-bitcoin-exchange-drags-central-bank-to-court-over-wallet-kyc-rule/

Tuesday, 26 January 2021

Iranian government reportedly moving to block Signal messaging app

Iranian government reportedly moving to block Signal messaging app

Iranian government reportedly moving to block Signal messaging app

Signal is reportedly under attack from Iranian authorities as interest is surging amid speculation the government already has access to users’ information on other popular messaging apps.

According to Al Jazeera, many users of the privacy-focused messaging app in Iran have reported being unable to connect since Signal took the top position at the Google Play Store in the country this month. The app has already been removed from Iranian app stores Cafe Bazaar and Myket.

In a tweet, Signal claimed it was “#1 on the Iranian government’s block list” and working to get around the country’s attempts at censorship.

Ever since Signal simultaneously hit #1 on the Play Store and #1 on the government’s block list, we’ve been working around censorship.

Unable to stop registration, the IR censors are now dropping all Signal traffic.

Iranian people deserve privacy. We haven’t given up.

— Signal (@signalapp) January 25, 2021

The report says that a committee of Iranian officials tasked with identifying “criminal content” has tagged Signal as a threat. However, a government spokesman also claimed the judiciary had not “blocked any media, news outlet or messaging service” and had no intentions of doing so.

Iran faced a large number of widespread civil protests in November 2019 amid the economic hardship brought on by U.S. sanctions, allegations of government corruption, an increase in the price of fuel, and later from the COVID-19 pandemic. Many social media posts at the time showed Iranian authorities killing protesters, resulting in the government shutting down the internet for nearly everyone in the country for days.

Residents of Iran can now send messages through WhatsApp and Instagram, but many speculate that the government has been able to access the apps, effectively offering no privacy. Iranian authorities currently block Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Telegram, the last of which reportedly takes up 60% of the country’s internet bandwidth.

Though Iran attempted to block Telegram in 2018 amid users sharing violent reactions to protesters from authorities, many residents have been able to circumvent these restrictions with VPNs. The app is still widely used in the country under these conditions, but privacy remains a concern as rumors circulate the government may even have access to Telegram.

Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation has said privacy tools like Signal have been used by similar movements in the United States — specifically, Black Lives Matter protests — “as a way to stay safe from police surveillance.” He opined that anyone living under a dictatorship is most likely to need privacy, and consequently demonizing Signal in a democratic country could lead to a bigger police state fueled by “mass surveillance to fight extremism.”

Digital rights researcher Amir Rashidi echoed this sentiment in the Al Jazeera report on the attempt to shut down Signal:

“Traditionally, whenever the Iranian government can’t figure out what is going on or who is doing what, they fear maybe people are doing something against the government.”Title: Iranian government reportedly moving to block Signal messaging app
Sourced From: cointelegraph.com/news/iranian-government-reportedly-moving-to-block-signal-messaging-app
Published Date: Tue, 26 Jan 2021 21:55:05 +0000

Iranian government reportedly moving to block Signal messaging app


Iranian government reportedly moving to block Signal messaging app was originally published here https://newsgrowing.wordpress.com/2021/01/27/iranian-government-reportedly-moving-to-block-signal-messaging-app/

A Guide to Rollover a 403b Retirement Savings Plan to a Gold IRA

Is a Gold IRA Right for You?: Rollover Your 403b Retirement Plan https://vimeo.com/814354211 retirement planning Transferring your 403b re...