- KuCoin leads $10M funding for Chinese yuan stablecoin issuer
The investment arm of major cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin is moving to support new stablecoin initiatives by backing a Chinese yuan-pegged stablecoin issuer.
KuCoin Ventures has led a $10 million investment into stablecoin issuer and blockchain-based payment service provider known as CNHC.
Announcing the news on March 16, KuCoin Ventures said that the funding round included some prominent industry investors, including KuCoin’s investor IDG Capital and Circle Ventures, the investment arm of the USD Coin USDC $1.00 issuer, Circle.
KuCoin chief investment officer and KuCoin Ventures lead Justin Chou told Cointelegraph that the new investment in CNHC is the first time for KuCoin Ventures to invest in a stablecoin-related project.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/kucoin-leads-10m-funding-for-chinese-yuan-stablecoin-issuer
- Ethereum’s Network-to-Value Ratio Slides to 3-Month Low as ETH Rallies 20%
An on-chain indicator suggests leading smart-contract blockchain Ethereum’s native cryptocurrency, ether (ETH), may be trading at compelling valuations.
The seven-day average of Ethereum’s network-to-value (NVT) ratio, which measures the cryptocurrency’s market capitalization (numerator) in relation to the value of on-chain transactions processed on the underlying blockchain (denominator), slipped to 59.3.
That’s the lowest since Nov. 19, according to data tracked by blockchain analytics firm Glassnode.
A rising ratio, implying a slower growth rate of onchain transactions relative to the cryptocurrency’s price, suggests the network is overvalued. A declining ratio indicates otherwise.
- Gibraltar’s Xapo Bank Enables GBP and USDC Payments Amid U.S. Crypto Banking Crisis
Gibraltar-based, crypto-friendly Xapo Bank has enabled British pound (GBP) and USDC stablecoin payments for its users after a banking crisis shook the U.S. crypto sector.
“From today we have also added support for GBP through the Faster Payments network, meaning members will be able to make payments directly to U.K. wallets or banks,” said Seamus Rocca, CEO of the retail-focused bank, in a statement to CoinDesk on Tuesday. Xapo also activated USDC payments this week, enabling its users to send and receive the stablecoin directly to their Xapo bank accounts without any fees, Rocca said.
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, said Monday it would be suspending its GBP deposit and withdrawal services for all users in May.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7452243
- Signature Bank Closure Has Nothing to Do With Crypto, Says Regulator
After the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) took possession of Signature Bank on Sunday, there have been speculations regarding whether the regulatory action was linked to cryptocurrency.
Former U.S. Representative Barney Frank, who was involved in the drafting of the Dodd-Frank Act and had been a member of Signature Bank’s board since 2015, believes that the regulator’s move was related to cryptocurrency. He told CNBC Monday:
I think part of what happened was that regulators wanted to send a very strong anti-crypto message.
“We became the poster boy because there was no insolvency based on the fundamentals,” he opined.
https://news.bitcoin.com/signature-bank-closure-has-nothing-to-do-with-crypto-says-regulator/
- Bitcoin Is Pumping—But It’s Not Yet ‘Decoupling’ From Stocks, Analysts Say
As Bitcoin’s price surged past $26,000 on Tuesday, crypto traders were quick to claim that the recent uptick in digital asset prices represented a significant shift in momentum.
Crypto Twitter is filled with examples of users claiming that the spike in Bitcoin’s price is evidence of digital assets diverging from other risk assets like stocks, with some calling it “The Great Decoupling.”
For much of last year, digital assets and equities have traded in similar directions, amid an economic slowdown and tightening monetary conditions spurred on by an aggressive series of interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.
https://decrypt.co/123481/bitcoin-pumping-not-decoupling-stocks
- ChatGPT v4 aces the bar, SATs and can identify exploits in ETH contracts
GPT-4, the latest version of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT, can pass high school tests and law school exams with scores ranking in the 90th percentile and has new processing capabilities that were not possible with the prior version.
The figures from GPT-4’s test scores were shared on March 14 by creator OpenAI, revealing it can also convert image, audio and video inputs to text in addition to handling “much more nuanced instructions” more creatively and reliably.
“It passes a simulated bar exam with a score around the top 10% of test takers,” OpenAI added. “In contrast, GPT-3.5’s score was around the bottom 10%.”
- In About-Face, Crypto Exchanges Abandon Support for STG Token Reissuance
Bitfinex and Binance are walking back technical support for Stargate Finance’s plans to reissue its stargate (STG) tokens, according to several announcements that came out this week. They will now promote the use of the protocol’s original STG tokens.
The crypto exchanges’ decision to eliminate support for the new STG tokens follows Stargate decentralized autonomous organization’s (DAO) decision on Tuesday to pump the brakes on its plan to mint new tokens, according to a recent community proposal. At the time of that decision, Stargate Finance had already begun disseminating the new STG tokens, according to data from Etherscan – a problem with which exchanges must now contend to eliminate security risks to STG token holders.
- Coinbase and Standard Chartered Collaborate for Crypto Banking
Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has announced a new strategic banking partnership with Standard Chartered, a leading international banking group. This move is expected to boost Coinbase’s banking strategy by providing enhanced access to banking services and enabling more efficient and secure fund transfers for its users.
Additionally, Coinbase has upgraded its retail platform, Singpass, for its customers in Singapore, allowing them to transfer funds to and from their Coinbase accounts for free using any local bank in Singapore. This development marks a significant step forward in Coinbase’s efforts to expand its reach in the rapidly growing cryptocurrency market.
This move marks a significant departure from traditional crypto transfer methods, which were typically limited to Visa and MasterCard transactions. The fact that Singapore is now willing to cooperate with regulators to facilitate crypto activities is a promising sign for the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies in the country.
https://www.binance.com/en/news/flash/7453414
- Agoras Leads the Way in AI-Based User-Controlled Cryptocurrency
rtificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days. With the rise of ChatGPT and other trending AI applications, many cryptocurrencies have been rushing to adopt it as well. However, not all AI is created equal. Logical-AI, an approach adopted by Tau, has been an integral part of Agoras token for a long time, and it is what sets it apart from other cryptocurrencies.
Agoras ($AGRS) is the first cryptocurrency entirely run by its users in a sound manner. It is the cryptocurrency of Tau Net, a user-controlled blockchain network. This unprecedented user control over the network and its tokenomics is made possible by Tau technology, which is based on the use of Logical AI – a combination of a unique software specification language and communication paradigm.
https://news.bitcoin.com/agoras-leads-the-way-in-ai-based-user-controlled-cryptocurrency/
- Bitcoin Smashes Past $26K as CPI Report Shows Inflation Held Steady in February
Bitcoin soared past $26,000, a price not seen since last Summer, on the back of the latest CPI print that showed inflation in the U.S. is still very much alive.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 6.0% in the 12 months through February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said Tuesday, meeting economists’ expectations for the index, which tracks price movements across a broad range of goods and services.
Bitcoin and Ethereum jumped 5% and 4% to $26,295 and $1,778, respectively, according to CoinGecko. Other tokens, such as Dogecoin and Solana, also rose, adding to gains from Monday.
https://decrypt.co/123437/bitcoin-smashes-past-inflation-held-steady-february
