China News Official Today TheBitTimes.com

Swiss multinational investment bank UBS Group is set to enable select high-net-worth clients in Hong Kong to trade crypto-linked exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The move is aimed at keeping pace with its competitor, HSBC, which has already incorporated three crypto-related futures ETFs on its investment platform in the city. The authorized ETFs, including Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active, CSOP Bitcoin Futures, and CSOP Ether Futures, have received the green light from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission. UBS following in HSBC’s footsteps The largest bank in Hong Kong, HSBC, has long been a participant in the crypto market. It recently announced that it would start offering Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in Hong Kong. The strategic move by UBS underscores the growing importance of crypto currencies in the financial sector and reflects the increasing demand from high-net-worth individuals for exposure to digital assets. Crypto regulation framework i...

The rally in the crypto market looks overvalued, say JPMorgan Chase analysts. According to The Block, the bank noted the high expectations of traders and investors dictated by several factors. Among them, experts identified two main ones: the prospect of approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of spot Bitcoin ETFs and the softening of the department’s supervisory policy, which stems from the previous paragraph. However, in both these cases, there are certain nuances, the report says. In the first, positive expectations are dictated by a likely jump in the exchange rate and an influx of capital, but the latter is unlikely, JPMorgan Chase notes: “First, instead of fresh capital entering the crypto industry to be invested in the newly-approved ETFs, we see as a more likely scenario existing capital shifting from existing bitcoin products such as the Grayscale bitcoin trust, bitcoin futures ETFs, and publicly listed bitcoin mining companies, into the...

As Cardano Summit 2023, the special competition for all early-stage Cardano (ADA) startups, begins in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), one project has received particular attention – the world’s first-ever hardware crypto currency wallet in the form of a stylish ring. Indeed, the new crypto currency cold storage product developed by Tangem is the first jewelry crypto wallet in the world, and it made its debut at the annual summit for the Cardano community, giving fans a first look at its special Features and characteristics at a workshop on November 3. Cardano community team director shows off Tangem Ring. Source: ADAtainment As previously announced, the participants of the workshop received their own Tangem Ring and wallet for free to take these products for a test ride and become the first owners of the ring-shaped hardware wallet before its public sale. Commenting on the development, Tangem CTO Andrey Lazutkin said: “As we unveil Tangem Ring, we’re not just l...

A court-ordered liquidation process allows FTX to sell nearly $3.4 billion worth of crypto assets in weekly batches starting from $50 million a week. The crypto wallet s linked to now-defunct crypto exchange FTX and its sister trading firm Alameda Research have sent over $13 million in different altcoins to numerous crypto exchanges early on Nov. 1. According to data from on-chain analysis firm Spotonchain, the FTX wallet first transferred $8.12 million worth of altcoins to Coinbase. The assets include 46.5 million GRT ($4.85 million), 972,073 RNDR ($2.3 million), and 708.1 MKR ($967,000). FTX and Alameda linked crypto deposit on Coinbase. Source: SOC The wallet addresses of FTX and Alameda Research made another $5.49 million transfer after three hours to Binance and Coinbase. The top 3 assets with the highest value in this transaction include 1.14 million DYDX ($2.64 million), 192,888 AXS ($1.05 million), and 5,858 AAVE ($522,000). #FTX and #Alameda Research further deposited...

Scott Purcell has resigned as chief exec (CEO) of Fortress Trust after its proposed acquisition by Ripple fell apart, Fortune has reported. Rich Hauschild, who was previously chief operating officer at iTrustCapital, will succeed him.  Fortress Trust recently suffered a third-party vendor hack, leading to a statement in which it claimed that “there is no loss of funds.” Ripple , at the time of the acquisition, disclosed that there was actually a loss of funds, noting that it was “in a position to act quickly to step in and make customers whole.” Fortress Trust says ‘no loss of funds’ as its customers’ crypto was stolen However, the acquisition fell apart weeks later, with Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse claiming that “the Fortress team is incredibly talented,” but despite this talent, the acquisition just didn’t make sense anymore . Purcell has a complicated history in the crypto industry, having previously served as...

In an exciting move towards transparency and community involvement, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, Base, has declared the release of its code repositories and smart contracts to the public. This open-sourcing initiative aims to foster a more diverse and dynamic development environment. As of October 19th, Base is extending a warm welcome to developers, granting them full access to the network’s codebase. By making their work available for all to see, Base intends to enable the community to monitor their progress and ensure their commitment to the project. Base believes that open-source practices create a mutually beneficial landscape for the crypto ecosystem. They acknowledge that when builders have access to a treasure trove of knowledge, they can build upon existing work, inspiring further innovation in the field. The decision to open-source their code is rooted in the desire to provide developers with an unprecedented level of transparency into the project’s develo...

In September it was announced that Binance would be selling off its Russian assets — from its customer’s deposits to loans — to a small, unheard-of crypto exchange called CommEx. As previously reported by Protos, there’s “almost identical language in CommEX and Binance’s terms of service,” and Russian users are, essentially, being bribed to move to CommEx with “a sweet 25% trading discount for BNB holders.” But there appear to be even closer, more direct ties between Binance and the newly created Russian exchange. Emails, transfer agents, and oddities According to X user @intel_jakal, after stopping halfway through a test of the CommEx verification process, they were sent emails reminding them to finish verifying their identity. Unfortunately, those emails weren’t sent from CommEx — they were sent from a Binance email address. Read more: Binance brokers like Nominex continue to serve Russia The screenshot above appears as though the user was trying to sign up wi...

The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in El Paso has warned the city’s residents of a crypto scam that convinces targets to send crypto currency and other funds, under the guise that they have been victims of identity theft. As reported by El Paso Times, the crypto scam distributes a letter made to look like an official FBI request to homes in the city. The letter attempts to convince readers it was sent by special agent John S. Morales, a legitimate FBI officer, by forging his signature.  The letter also includes capitalized phrases such as “UNCLASSIFED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” and the address details of a real El Paso FBI branch to create a sense of legitimacy. It tells the reader “you have successfully secured your Bank of America account that was under suspicion of US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PATROL.” Then, after providing a fake confirmation number, it says to “contact your investigation officer for further assistance.” The scam letter provided by El Paso authorit...

Hong Kong has allowed retail crypto trading since June. Just 47% of retail crypto investors in Hong Kong are aware of the Virtual Asset Trading Platform Regulatory Regime, a legislation which went into effect this June to protect the interest of retail investors in digital assets in the region. That's according to an October 11 report by the The Investor and Financial Education Council (IFEC) of Hong Kong. In its survey, the IFEC noted that nearly 25% of Hong Kong adults ages 18 to 29 have invested in crypto within the past year, three times the demographic average and a significant increase over 2019, where just 3% of respondents in the said demographic reported investing in crypto .  Despite the improvement in adoption, most Hong Kong-ers said that their top investment preferences were stocks (96%), mutual funds and trusts (24%), followed by bonds (18%). Around three-quarters of overall respondents said the primary goal of investing in crypto was for "short-term pr...

Most individuals believe crypto is a good investment People are attracted to new technology Lack of trust in authorities turned people to crypto The crypto currency market’s popularity rose exponentially in the last decade or so. The difference is stunning if one looks at the market capitalization of the entire industry today and compares it with, say, ten years ago. So, knowing what drives people to invest in cryptocurrencies is interesting. Guess no more. A study by the Federal Reserve, called Federal Reserve’s 2022 Diary of Consumer Payment Choice, sheds light on this topic. So here are the main three reasons why investors hold crypto: Great potential investment People are interested in new technologies Some do not trust the US government or the US dollar Most individuals own crypto as an investment The overwhelming majority of individual investors own cryptocurrencies because they believe it is a good investment. More precisely, 67% ...

Despite being in the midst of crypto winter, several firms from the crypto space continue to expand their reigns. Right from branching out to different geographical locations to offering new services to customers, companies have been checking a host of boxes. Deribit is one such entity. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, the Chief Commercial Officer of the company, Luuk Strijers, revealed that the platform will be shortly offering market participants more crypto assets to choose from. The world’s largest options exchange is looking to offer XRP, Solana, and MATIC options from January 2024. The executive asserted that the lack of volatility “won’t defer” the company’s plans. The largest cryptocurrency exchange for options, Deribit, is pushing ahead with plans to provide customers with contracts on more coins despite a slump in volatility in digital assets https://t.co/O6zotmQGUc — Bloomberg Crypto (@crypto) October 9, 2023 Also Re...

Telegram crypto bots offer convenience, but they come with risks. Explore how they can simplify crypto tasks while staying vigilant against potential pitfalls. The ability to create bots is one of the main features of Telegram. By interacting with the messenger API, bots allow users to automate many DeFi functions, such as trading, managing wallets, searching for tokens, farming, and much more. After receiving a command, the Telegram bot generates a main menu, offering choices for creating a new wallet or linking an existing one. Once a wallet is configured, users can deposit funds and choose various transaction options to cater to their needs. Among the most popular projects, UniBot, Moonbot, and AIMBOT are worth noting. All of these cryptocurrencies saw significant growth in Q2 2023. Despite the fact that Telegram bots have different use cases, their price dynamics in recent weeks closely correlate with the dynamics of TON, a native coin of The Open Network, created by the Tel...

A Spanish court has officially ruled the death of software entrepreneur and alleged Crypto grifter John McAfee as suicide , a decision that confirms the findings of a previous autopsy and dismisses his family’s claims of foul play. In late June 2021, Spanish authorities discovered the 75-year-old tech visionary dead in his prison cell near Barcelona just hours after his extradition to the US was granted.  According to Reuters, Spanish court documents dated July 24, say, “There is not a single element of suspicion, of a charge against a third party, of criminal behavior.”  McAfee ’s death was previously ruled a suicide following an autopsy in 2021. However, his family refuted this and successfully appealed to the court , allowing for further investigation into his death.  His death also fueled a host of conspiracy theories that pointed to previous tweets to further fuel their claims. One of these tweets read, “Know that if I hang myself, a la Epstein, it ...

JPMorgan analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou called Ethereum’s network activity levels since its Shanghai upgrade “disappointing.” Shanghai enabled withdrawals for Ethereum’s proof-of-stake validators. It activated on April 12 this year. Since that upgrade, Ethereum ’s market capitalization, daily transactions, daily active addresses, and DeFi total value locked (TVL) have all declined. To be precise, the market capitalization of Ethereum has declined 17% from $230 billion when Shanghai activated to $190 billion today, while daily transactions have dropped 14% from 1 million at activation to 860,000. Daily active wallet addresses on the Ethereum network also fell 19% from 438,000 to 351,000 while Ethereum’s total value locked (TVL) — a popular metric of the amount of money committed to so-called decentralized finance (DeFi) applications on a blockchain — declined 30% from $30 billion to $21 billion today. Ethereum-based NFTs have continued to fade in popularity. Tens ...

The price of Shiba Inu dipped to $0.000000000082 in September 2020. However, by October 2021, the same meme coin had reached its highest-ever value of $0.00008616. If someone had invested $1,000 in SHIB in 2020, what would that investment be worth today? Also Read: Shiba Inu: SHIB Could Easily Reach $0.01 if This Happens Analyzing a $1000 investment made in 2020 The network was determined to distance itself from being labeled as a “meme coin,” which led to the introduction of Shibarium. Although the layer-2 network generated considerable excitement, it did not succeed in elevating the value of the meme coin. Nonetheless, there is optimism for the asset to reach a set of significant price-related milestones in the near future. Shiba Inu was initially introduced with a starting price of $0.00000001009, but it subsequently experienced a significant decline, reaching an all-time low of $0.000000000056 in November of that year. At the time of writing, SHIB is currentl...

Crypto influencer Ben Armstrong, better known as “Bitboy,” has secured $59,000 in rapid crowdfunding amid legal battle, sparking community backlash. Armstrong tweeted an emotional video earlier today, pleading with the crypto community for donations. He disclosed the emotional and financial strain he has been enduring due to the ongoing legal dispute with Hit Network.  Citing instances of blackmail, public humiliation, and even death threats, Armstrong articulated that he is undergoing “the most harrowing experience” of his existence. He contended that Hit Network has left him financially bereft, thereby crippling his ability to continue the legal battle without external support. The fact is @HitNetwork_ has taken all my money from me so I can’t fight. I’m humbly asking anyone who has ever benefitted from my content or anything I’ve done to help donate to my legal fund to get BitBoy Crypto back. ETH Address: 0xa6079bC88540cC9360D3c8D6f9cE583cdCcC3dC6 pic.twitter.com/PC2...

Sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing a noteworthy surge in crypto activity, having amassed $117.1 billion in transactions between July 2022 and June 2023. According to a Chainalysis report shared with crypto.news, this region contributed 2.3% of the global cryptocurrency transactions, marking the region’s most minimal market share. World regions per crypto transaction share | Source: Chainalysis However, this represents a noticeable growth in adoption. In the last report, Sub-Saharan Africa only accounted for 2% of global crypto transactions, with $100 billion in total transactions. The adoption of crypto currencies has persistently penetrated pivotal markets within the region.  You might also like: Chainalysis reports on crypto adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa Nigeria stands at the forefront, securing the second position on the Global Crypto Adoption Index, up from 11th last year. Additionally, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa demonstrate resolute crypto adoption, with 21s...

Crypto exchange OKX announced delist ing of over 30 trading pairs that failed to meet its listing criteria. OKX has revealed plans to delist various trading pairs that no longer meet its listing standards. The move is part of OKX’s ongoing effort to ensure a strong user trading environment. OKX, the second largest offshore crypto exchange, announced the delisting of several spot trading pairs that do not fulfill listing criteria: HEGIC-USDT, MDA-USDT, API3-ETH, API3-USDC, AVAX-ETH, BAT-BTC, BAT-USDC, DGB-BTC, EGLD-BTC, ENS-BTC; ETC-ETH, ETC-OKB, ETHW-BTC, FLOW-BTC,… — Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 13, 2023 Impacted OKX trading pairs Notably, the exchange delists pairs connected to high-profile projects like AVAX-ETH, BAT-BTC, and HEGIC-USDT, among others. OKX recommends that traders cancel their existing orders tied to these pairs before the scheduled delisting dates to avoid automatic cancellation by the system, which may take one to three business days ...

Blockchain analyst ZachXBT accused crypto influencers TraderSZ, Trader_XO, TraderNJ1, and PetaByte of scamming. Expert claims that they fraudulently obtained tokens, inflated their price, and sold them. His investigation consists of two parts. In the first one he covers the actions of TraderNJ1 and PetaByte who used other people’s names to obtain (CompanionBot) CBOT and (Baby Shiba Inu) BABYSHIB tokens. 1/ Part 1 of an breakdown into how @TraderNJ1 @PetaByteCapital have deceived multiple projects by leveraging the names of other influencer to obtain free tokens from CBOT and BABYSHIB to dump on followers undisclosed. pic.twitter.com/BllmaDzDO5 — ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 10, 2023 These coins were allocated 8% and 3.5% of the supply, respectively. Both influencer s claimed that these tokens would increase in value by 10-20x. You might also like: One wallet conducted 114 meme coin scams, ZachXBT’s findings After the asset price soared, traders drained their...