Latest News

UN Launches Blockchain Academy for Global Staff Training

Summary: Everybody on this day and age are starting to understand the importance of Blockchain, United Nations isn’t any different as they’re planning on expanding its blockchain academy to upskill over 24,000 staff worldwide. They’re not doing this alone as this work is being continued as a partnership with the Algorand Foundation. The program aims to leverage blockchain technology for sustainable and equitable development.

Global Upskilling Effort

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced an ambitious and very progressive initiative to train a whopping 24,000 personnel in the latest technology called as blockchain technology. UN aims to equip their staff with the skills necessary to apply blockchain in real-world scenarios and projects which they believe will drastically enhance transparency and efficiency. This development is being conducted in collaboration with Algorand Foundation.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Bitfinex Hacker Razzlekhan Gets 18 Months in Jail

Blockchain in Action

The blockchain academy launched in late 2023 initially only managed to train and certified only 30 personnel and had introduced 18 hours of allocated time for training. Now, its has seen a drastic and progressive expansion in its curriculum and is accessible to staff across multiple UN bodies. This course isn’t just for UN employees but also for UN Volunteers and the United Nations Capital Development Fund. Till now UN has only used blockchain to track cocoa supply chains and facilitate digital impact investments, hopefully we see more and social use of blockchain from the UN.

Pioneering with a Sustainable Future

This initiative by a global organization like UN puts and adds more and brings these stuffs in spotlight like the Guardian platform, launched with the HBAR Foundation for carbon market verification. Doro Unger-Lee of the Algorand Foundation said blockchain’s transparency and efficiency are key to driving impactful sustainable development programs.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: HBAR Skyrockets 160% in a Week Amid Buzz Around Brian Brooks as SEC Chair Frontrunner

HBAR Skyrockets 160% in a Week Amid Buzz Around Brian Brooks as SEC Chair Frontrunner

HBAR’s is up 160% this week after rumors spread about Brian Brooks being the next SEC Chair. Already owning a $2.06B trading volume and $5.3B market cap, this new surge has kept investors hyped. Brooks’s crypto knowledge and Hedera’s moves have the market buzzing. This bullish vibes has left everyone wondering what’s next.

HBAR is basically a native cryptocurrency of Hedera. Its a fast, secure and scalable blockchain platform especially designed for decentralized apps (dApps) and enterprise purposes. It mainly focuses on solving issues like high fees and slow speeds that plague other blockchains and overall claims to offer a more efficient alternatives. They use a unique consensus mechanism called Hashgraph, making it different from traditional blockchains.

This platform is taken away by storm which led it to surge by over 160% in the past week, plus a 30% rally in the last 24 hours. Its currently trading at $0.144. This meteoric rise is all thanks to a simple rumor about  Brian Brooks, a Hedera board member, being appointed as the next U.S. SEC.

Read more: Trump’s Bitcoin Obsession: Is Gold Losing Its Shine?

This hype started right after President Trump hinted at replacing  Gary Gensler, a well known figure in crypto industry, with Brooks who is also an expert in blockchain technology. Brooks is very close to Trump, he previously  served as Binance US CEO and was nominated twice by Trump for Comptroller of the Currency. If the rumors turn out to be true, we should expect a very crypto friendly environment in the future. This has filled investors with optimism and excitement for the future.

Also read: Pump.fun Sells $25M in SOL as Solana’s Price Soars

Ethereum’s Dilemma: Rising Network Activity Amid Stagnant ETH Prices

Ethereum’s token ETH is stuck under $3,200 despite popping off in network growth. There seems to be no problem in daily users, transactions and even dApps which just recently hit $149.9B. That’s way above of BNB chain. Plus, even smart money is bullish but inflation and weak fee burns issue is dragging it down. Options market isn’t hyped, with only a 10% shot at $4K this year. The Beam Chain upgrade might be a savior, but for now Bitcoin is taking all the cake.

ETH token price has been showing inconsistency in its price, even with the market surge. It is struggling to maintain momentum above  $3,200 mark, despite numerous attempts to improve in network fundamentals and dApp volumes.

Ethereum’s Price Stays Flat

Basically, there is no problem yet faced in Ethereum’s on-chain activities, daily active users have actually jumped from 377K to 488K as of recent, plus, transactions hit 1.29M and TVL even surged by 25%. DApp volumes are also absolutely crushing it with $149.9B, shortening BNB Chain’s $26.6B. But despite this killer stats, ETH’s price isn’t looking bright, this network hype doesn’t go along with its market moves and its stuck in between this mess.

ETH’s Smart Money Hope vs. Market Doubts

Big players are bullish, scoring ETH sentiment at 2.28/5, while retail vibes stay lukewarm at 0.06. But there are challenges in the way, less fee burning and skepticism in option markets has been a major setback. While ETH has gained 36%, it looks tiny in front of Bitcoin’s surge 109%.

Key levels:

  • Support: $3K
  • Resistance: $3.2K
  • Target: $3.735K (+20%)

Beam Chain upgrade might help, but for now, ETH’s stuck following Bitcoin’s lead.

Bitfinex Hacker Razzlekhan Gets 18 Months in Jail

Summary: Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for her dirty and notorious role in laundering a massive amount of $10.8 billion from the infamous Bitfinex hack. This is the biggest crypto theft scandal to have ever existed and it’s not finally concluded with Morgan’s partner Ilya Lichtenstein receiving a five-year sentence.

A Crypto Heist Gone Wrong

Morgana and Lichtenstein stole a huge amount of BTC from Bitfinex which counts to 120,000 in 2016. The valuation of said amount of BTC at that time was $17 million but if we calculate it’s value today, BTC was skyrocketed and that amount is valued at $10.8 billion. The couple tried their best to run from the law and authorities but finally got caught up in 2022, which directly led to them pleading guilty for conspiracy and money laundering in 2023.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Trump’s Bitcoin Obsession: Is Gold Losing Its Shine?

The Sentence and Regret

Morgan being speculated as just a helper in the operation received 18-month of prison sentence while her partner whom is believed to be the operation’s mastermind was handed five years which is just fair considering the amount stolen. Morgan very clearly expressed shame and regret that she got involved in this work and claimed that she was only involved in laundering the amount with no clues about the hack. However, the court came to the conclusion that she still played an active role in concealing the fund which is a crime nontheless.

Sophisticated Laundering Tactics

The couple tried to hide their track of money by using crypto mixers, dark web markets and even several gold purchases but in the end authorities got the better of them and the federal investigators took all their ill-gotten assets and stated their story is a cautionary tale about how no amount of on-chain trickery can run away from the justice as the reach of justice is long and it’ll always shine upon every criminal.

YOU NEED TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS: MicroStrategy Hits 331,200 BTC in Holdings with $4.6B Buy

Trump’s Bitcoin Obsession: Is Gold Losing Its Shine?

Summary: Everyone already knows how all around crypto space the thing being talked about the most is our Beloved Bitcoin as it surges to greater and greater heights under a pro-crypto narrative led by Donald Trump. Gold, another highly valued asset is being compared to BTC and it seems to be losing its appeal to Bitcoin. Since the Fed’s polices are getting more and more strict the investor’s primary focus is on Bitcoin with the hopes that it’ll reshape the future of financial assets.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Pump.fun Sells $25M in SOL as Solana’s Price Soars

Gold on the Defensive

It wasn’t all sunshine for Gold as it very recently hit a one-month low of $2,543 following the U.S. inflation report. This decrease in value has raised some eyebrows some of sadness and some of disappointment. Although it managed to get back on it’s feet and recovered slightly, gold’s 30 day decline of 2.6% just perfectly contrasts with sharply increasing Bitcoin’s value.

Bitcoin Hits the Spotlight

Bitcoin smashed and broke all records into pieces with a all time high of around $93,400 in the time where inflation is rising everywhere. People have started calling BTC as the new-age “digital gold” and with this gold’s century-old dominance is being overshadowed by a cryptocurrency. With Donald Trump on the lead, people’s perception has started to change and everyone sees BTC as a new weapon against inflation.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Mantra (OM) Rally Loses Steam as Whales Start Selling

Gold’s Gilded Era Fading?

It’s not just normal everyday people saying gold might lose it’s charm but experts like Maruf Yusupov says that gold’s allure could fade away as Bitcoin has started to gain mainstream popularity. Not only that but Senator Cynthua Lummi’s also proposed an idea to swap some of the Fed’s gold reserves for Bitcoin further fuel speculation. With this it’s highly believed by analysts hat if U.S. dollar strengthens, the case for traditional hedges like gold might just lose it’s allure.

Pump.fun Sells $25M in SOL as Solana’s Price Soars

Pump.fun has just sold 105K SOL, which is $25.14M after Solana price surged to $241.66. They have been cashing out their fees for months, sparking numerous debates. Its divided though, some say its fair while others worry it’s messing with SOL’s price stability. So far, they’ve sold out nearly $160M worth.

Pump.fun is basically a memecoin launchpad platform that helps launch and promote meme-based cryptocurrencies. It makes revenue earnings through fees from token transactions and has accumulated a large amount of Solana (SOL) tokens. However, them selling too much of SOL tokens have led to a problem.

Just recently it has sold another 105,000 SOL tokens which is valued at $25.14 million. This has been a major catalyst in intensifying pressure on Solana’s price. A blockchain analytics platform named Lookonchain revealed the transaction to the general public, noting that the tokens were transferred to Kraken in a single move.

Read about : Mantra (OM) Rally Loses Steam as Whales Start Selling

Pump.fun Sellings

Pump.fun has bagged huge profits as they sold huge chunks in the latest surge of Solana’s SOL. It had recently spiked from $135 to $241.66. This is no new news though, they’ve done this before, like when SOL hit $200 earlier this month. Since launching, they’ve racked up 1.3M SOL, selling $157M worth for costs. Some think it’s fair, but others worry it could mess with SOL’s price.

Read more: Crypto Podcaster Cobie Burns Majority of ‘UPONLY’ SOL Tokens in Bold Move

Mantra (OM) Rally Loses Steam as Whales Start Selling

Mantra’s OM token that gained traction across the market with its 30% spike has fallen off quite quickly and now it stands on a mere $3.81. Major reason for this is whales selling big amounts in such a short time. $1.8M worth of OM hit exchanges, signaling complete sell-offs. Supply on exchanges is up by 10% which means its going for a cooldown. Despite this downfall, OM’s still up 20,000% this year with a $3.8B market cap.

Mantra’s OM, the native cryptocurrency powering Mantra’s ecosystem recently had a uphill ride, but it quickly fell off. Just yesterday, it had a strong rally as it jumped over 30% in just 24 hours. This led it to reach its all time high of $4.52 but the positives end there, right after that it started to dip and is indicating to dip down even further. As of now, it is priced at $3.88 and there is no hint in sight that tells its going to increase.

Whale Sell-Off Behind OM’s Decline

Main reason behind such sharp drop is all thanks to whales who decided to quickly sell off all their tokens. According to a report, between November 14 and 17, the amount of OM being bought and sold fell by 54%, this leads to a drop in the token’s price.

Plus, whales are making big moves with OM, $1.3M went to Binance and $534K to OKX. Furthermore, even more OM tokens are set to be sold as every major owner is hitting exchanges. To be accurate, there’s $1.2T worth of OM chilling on exchanges right now.

OM’s Rally is Still Positive

However, despite this price pullback if we compare it from a year ago, it has risen by nearly 20,000%. It holds the market cap of over $3.8 billion. This rally started back when Mantra hyped a big announcement, but there’s no saying where it will go from here as with 10% more OM on exchanges (17.8% total), an overbought situation is undeniable.

Read similar topic: Trump’s Lead Over Harris Narrows on Polymarket as Bitcoin Dips to $68,000

Semlar Scientific Buys 215 Bitcoin, Raises $21.5M via Equity Offering

Summary: Semlar just few days ago bought some BTC and again it had bought 215 and has expanded its Bitcoin Holdings to 1273 BTC, this astonishing amount is valued at $114M, while it has managed to raus $21.5M thorough equity offering. This move has improved its reserve as BTC trades at $90,400.

Semler Expands Bitcoin Holdings

Semler Scientific is a medical equipment company and has ventured into the crypto space and purchases an additional 215 Bitcoin between a short period of Nov. 6 and Nov, 15 for $17.7M, averaging $82,502 per BTC. This has again drastically increased its total holding to 1,273 BTC, according to recent press release. Since Bitcoin has unreal momentum which is breaking all limit and current trading price of $90,400 gives the company’s holdings a value of $114M.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Nepal Warns Citizens Amid Rising Crypto Scam Cases

Equity Offerings Supports Strategy

Semler raised a high amount of $21.5M through an at-the-market offerings with Cantor Fitzgerald, this could happen because they sold 505,544 shares to fund its Bitcoin purchases and operational goals. The company uses a special metric system widely called BTC yield to track its strategic success and as per the provided data, BTC yield reached 37.3% from July 1 to Nov. 15.

A Strategic Hedge

Semler’s also using the same strategy other companies like MicroStrategy used and it goes hand to hand with its view of BTC as an inflation resilient asset. This company along with several other companies growing crypto treasury shows broader trend amongst corporations and institutions embracing Bitcoin as a reserve asset.

MicroStrategy Hits 331,200 BTC in Holdings with $4.6B Buy

Summary: MicroStrategy didn’t just invest on Bitcoin but now had gone deep into the crypto rabbit hole and bought itself $4.6 Billion worth of BTC making it’s total holding to over 331,200 BTC which is a very very aggressive approach to cryptocurrency by any company.

A Massive BTC Purchase

This move of buying insane amount of BTC was announced on Nov.18, which positions the company as the largest corporate Bitcoin holder globally with some unrealized profits exceeding over $13 billion which is yet another absurd amount. MicroStrategy purchased 51,780 BTC at an average price of $88,627 per coin with total expenditure of $4.6 billion.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE THIS: Nepal Warns Citizens Amid Rising Crypto Scam Cases

Saylor’s Bold Strategy

Michael Saylor is a madman to some and a Crypto genius to some, he launched his BTC investment strategy in 2020, and ever since the announcement, the strategy has become the central core piece to MicroStrategy economic and financial approach. This company alone has manage to spent a huge amount of $16.5 billion on BTC and still plans to raise $42 billion more for further acquisitions in the next three years.

Industry-Wide Impact

MicroStrategy is now playing a role of a role-model for other companies like Semlar Scientific and AI firm Genius Group, to take and adopt BTC as a treasury asset.

Polish Minister Pledges Bitcoin Reserve for a Crypto-Friendly Future

Summary: We’ve already talked about 2 companies and even states of U.S. moving forward in technology and bringing crypto into their reserves, and now Polish minister Slawonir Mentzen also plans to follow the steps of those pervious cases and plans to establish a Bitcoin reserve and make sure Poland becomes a global Crypto Sensation and leader If he’s elected president in 2025.

Mentzen’s Vision for Poland

Slawomor Mentzen very eagerly and excitedly said how he wants to make Poland a hub for cryptocurrency innovation, backed by friendly policies and infrastructure. His statement regarding bitcoin reserve started as a response to crypto advocacy suggestions and he seems to be fully commited to creating a national Bitcoin reserve which is designed after the Satoshi Action Fund framework.

READ MORE ABOUT: SUI Reaches Record High Amid Overextension Concerns

A Track Record of Innovation

Mentzen isn’t new to suggesting blockchain’s involvement in governance as he also proposed mining Bitcoin in municipal buildings in his 2018 mayoral campaign. This plan of his was dismissed sadly for all Polish cryto enthusiast but now with Bitcoin nearing $100,000, his forward thinking approach has managed to gain a lot of eyes on him.

Global Implications

This proposal by Mentzen aligns globally with international trend, mostly goes parrel to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of a strategic Bitcoin reserve. Experts on this field suggest and believe such move might spark a digital war, as nations race amongst each other to secure BTC as a reserve asset, which sounds like a doubled edge sword.

THIS IS ALSO INTERESTING: Bitcoin Trading Volume Reaches All-Time High on Retail Demand

Exit mobile version