May 21, 2020

Overwatch League’s Money-Grabbing Jump to YouTube Lost It Viewers

May 21, 2020 boss

Overwatch League vice president Jon Spector admits that viewership has dropped since it moved to YouTube. Activision announced that it had signed an exclusive deal with the platform in February, meaning that Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Hearthstone esports would only be available on YouTube. The move was widely criticized by fans who wanted Overwatch League streams to stay on Twitch. Speaking to The Washington Post’s The Launcher, Overwatch League vice president Jon Spector confirmed that the league’s viewership has declined since moving to YouTube in January. The YouTube deal…

2.2% of All Ethereum Is Long on Bitfinex: 3 Reasons Why This Could Go Wrong

May 21, 2020 boss

Despite the ongoing retracement in the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other top cryptocurrencies, investors remain highly optimistic about this market. ETH, especially, has benefited from traders, with data from leading crypto exchange Bitfinex indicating that there are more long positions open for Ethereum than ever before. “What. Is. Happening. 2.2% of all ETH in existence is now margin long on Bitfinex, an increase of 160% since ~February,” one trader explained in reference to the chart below.” Chart of Ethereum longs on Bitfinex (ETHUSD and ETHBTC) from crypto trader Jonny…

Bitcoin Futures, Options, and Open Interest: Crypto Derivatives Break Records After the Halving

May 21, 2020 boss

Since the market rout on March 12, otherwise known as ‘Black Thursday,’ bitcoin futures and options contracts have seen significant demand. On May 14, CME Group saw the total number of outstanding derivatives contracts (open interest) touch a high of $142 million. Four days later, CME broke records again. Data from the researchers at Skew.com detailed that CME’s regulated bitcoin options open interest is up 10x this month. Deribit’s Massive Options Volumes and CME Group’s Regulated Bitcoin Derivatives Markets Touch New Highs Ever since the halving on May 11, there’s…

Cardano is Working on a Microchip That Would Give Crypto a Cash-like Experience

May 21, 2020 boss

In a recent Cointelegraph interview, Charles Hoskinson elaborated on the crypto-native chip that IOHK is working at its blockchain lab at the University of Wyoming that may lead to many groundbreaking use cases, including a cash-like experience for cryptocurrency. Crypto-native microchip It all began when IOHK, the company charged with the development of Cardano (ADA), began exploring supply chain use cases and realized that there were no chips on the market that could satisfy its requirements — embeddability, ability to store cryptographic keys, and being inexpensive to produce: “Really what…

UAE Startup Relies on Blockchain Technology to Flatten COVID-19 Curve

May 21, 2020 boss

UAE-based startup incubator, in5, is helping to design blockchain-based methods to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and thus flatten the curve. According to a report published on May 20, Liber Health, supported by in5, is one of the platforms used for patient identification supported by blockchain technology. They are creating a contactless system to recognize the biometric ID data and analyze suspected COVID-19 symptoms. Liber Health hopes that by tracking patients that have been in contact with suspected COVID-19 cases, they can help individuals apply quarantine measures as…

Blockchain.com to Support Russian Ruble Despite Local Crypto Uncertainty

May 21, 2020 boss

Blockchain.com, a major cryptocurrency wallet and blockchain data provider, plans to support Russia’s national currency, the ruble (RUB). Although some big exchanges like Binance have introduced the Russian ruble, there is still no law authorizing circulation of crypto in Russia. On May 20, Blockchain.com announced its long-term roadmap, “The next era of crypto and 1B wallets by 2030.” In a post authored by Peter Smith, Blockchain.com CEO and co-founder, the firm outlined the addition of the Russian ruble as part of its mission to grow its current user base of…

Market Wrap: Traders ‘Buy the Dip’ as Bitcoin Hovers at $9,000

May 21, 2020 boss

Bitcoin fell for a second day, extending a downdraft triggered by Wednesday’s revelation that a member of the cryptocurrency community from the blockchain’s earliest days in 2009 had moved a long-dormant cache of coins. As of 20:30 UTC (4:30 p.m. ET), bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $9,044, a loss of 5.6% over 24 hours. Bitcoin remains well below its 10-day and 50-day technical indicator moving averages — a signal of bearish sentiment. At 14:00 UTC (10 a.m. ET) the world’s oldest cryptocurrency began experiencing high selling volume on exchanges including…

Market Wrap: Traders ‘Buy the Dip’ as Bitcoin Hovers at $9,000

May 21, 2020 boss