Your 2023 crypto reading list

Reading is my passion. Crypto is not. 

However, I find reading so important that I’ve still made a point of stressing the need to read books (ideally fiction) in order to be better at your job — even if your job is in the crypto industry. In fact, I’ve written a whole column begging the crypto industry to read. (My favorite response to said column: “How is crypto going to read a book, it doesn’t have eyes.”)

For this end-of-year crypto reading last wrap-up, I will be making several concessions by adding in some non-fiction to my recommendations — as well as some light warnings of books that crypto people should stay away from.

Top of my list for best crypto books in 2023…

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Bitcoin to $1M post-ETF approval? BTC price predictions diverge wildly

Bitcoin (BTC) may not see a $40,000 BTC price reclaim despite increasing excitement over a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

In recent analysis, crypto market participants have started to reconsider just how bullish the ETF narrative really is for BTC price action.

Trader: “Not sure” BTC price will reach $42,000

The dust continues to settle on the U.S. versus Binance regulatory bombshell, which is thought to involve a $4.3 billion fine and the removal of Changpeng Zhao, also known as CZ, as CEO.

Bitcoin sank to one-week lows on the news, but a swift rebound took it back to near 18-month highs with the following 24 hours.

At the same time, commentators began to suggest that the enforcement…

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Bitcoin: The World's First Decentralized Organization

Comparisons between the market capitalization of Bitcoin and publicly traded companies used to make me wince in frustration. Trying to contrast the world’s first successful digitally native currency to a single industry is narrow minded, let alone a single company. However, as I continuously surrender to the process of meeting people where they are on their bitcoin journey, I realized I can use this comparison to illustrate Bitcoin’s strengths in a different way.

Rather than trying to conceptually pull Bitcoin up to the level of global currencies, I suggest conceptually pulling global currencies down to the level of publicly traded companies. This temporarily negates the necessity of…

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Top 10 Trending Crypto Coins of The Day

  1. Pyth Network: Market Cap of $692 Million.
  2. Chainflip: Market Cap of $49 Million.
  3. WAGMI Games: Market Cap of $26 Million.
  4. HELLO: Market Cap of $66 Million.
  5. Tectum: Market Cap of $59 Million.
  6. AllianceBlock Nexera: Market Cap of $99 Million.
  7. Decimated: Market Cap of $17 Million.
  8. Bonk: Market Cap of $267 Million.
  9. Sidus: Market Cap of $79 Million.
  10. MASQ: Market Cap of $16 Million.

Disclaimer: Market capitalizations can vary in real-time. The information provided here is intended purely for educational purposes and should not, under any circumstances, be construed as financial advice.

NFT stamp collecting is a dud

Crypto stamp collecting should never, ever catch on.

My dad is a stamp collector. Last month, he expanded his stamp collection with something a little bit new — an NFT stamp, issued by the Austrian post office.

For those who don’t know, stamp collecting is a serious hobby. The most expensive stamp ever was issued in British Guiana in 1857 and sold at Sotheby’s for almost $9.5 million. The cheapest and easiest stamps for you to buy are at your local post office for around $.60. Somewhere in the middle are Crypto Stamps (of cryptostamp.com), which go for 9.90 euros ($10.82) each.

The website for Crypto Stamps, which are issued by the real Austrian post office, looks like the lowest…

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Solana’s genesis story — Anatoly Yakovenko’s vision for a high-performance blockchain

“I literally had two coffees and a beer, and I had this eureka moment at four in the morning,” Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko recalls as he leans back thoughtfully. 

Speaking to Cointelegraph at the annual Breakpoint conference in Amsterdam, the co-founder recounts a late night brainwave of a “hyper-optimized, fast as possible” smart contract blockchain protocol.

“The use case that I was going after was for central limit order books, like how to run something that’s like the Nasdaq, but on a public permission-less blockchain,” Yakovenko explains.

“I thought that there was a clear win there if you have transparent data, everyone has fair and open rights and all this stuff… Read more on Cointelegraph

Is this the cycle to end them all?

The conventional wisdom of the cryptoverse is that there is a boom-and-bust cycle to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry. This cycle is led by the “King of Cryptos,” Bitcoin. 

Bitcoin (BTC) is programmatically set to have a halving cycle roughly every four years, which cuts the supply of new coins awarded to miners in half. The halving sends a supply shock to the market, and as seen in the past three cycles, this under- and overvaluation in the market is partially responsible for the dramatic ups and downs.

Other factors also play critical roles in this cycle, including overall network adoption, expanded use cases for Bitcoin — like the Lightning Network for scalability and…

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Uniswap price pumps, DeFi hits 14-month high amid Binance drama

Uniswap (UNI) is the best performing top cryptocurrency since word of Binance’s $4 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) first broke.

UNI, a governance token for the top decentralized exchange by trade volume, has jumped more than 22% over the past three days, from around $5.20 to $6.35. 

The move has swelled UNI’s market cap by more than $750 million to $4.8 billion, it’s highest point since August. UNI is now valued above bitcoin cash (BCH), although it’s still 86% down on its all-time high set in 2021.

Bloomberg first reported word of Binance and former CEO Changpeng Zhao’s run-in with the DOJ on Monday. Zhao stepped down as CEO the next day and…

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Alchemy bags money services license in Iowa, expands US services

The Singaporean crypto-fiat payment gateway, Alchemy Pay, announced a further expansion into the United States market on Nov. 23 with the acquisition of its money services license in the state of Iowa. 

According to local state regulations, any entity or individual engaged in currency exchange or money transmission business in Iowa must hold such a license.

In September, the company received its money transmitter license (MTL) in Arkansas. The company says it has already completed the application for MTL licenses in additional U.S. states and anticipates answers in the coming months.

Alchemy Pay Ecosystem Lead Robert McCracken spoke to Cointelegraph about the development, saying that in…

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New Research Center Opens In Serbia's Capital To Drive Bitcoin Innovation

Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, welcomes the inception of HUB21, a pioneering non-profit association dedicated to education, fostering research, and creating networking avenues within the global Bitcoin design and development ecosystem, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine. The association’s launch aims to bridge the gap in understanding and participation in Bitcoin within Serbia’s burgeoning IT landscape.

Belgrade, known for its cultural vibrancy and historical innovation, is poised to attract foreign professionals, investors, and creative minds to engage with HUB21. While Serbia boasts a wealth of IT talent and has attracted international corporations, the absence of…

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