Bitcoin Alpha Competition Winner Animus Technologies Awarded $1 Million In Seed Capital

In conclusion of the inaugural Bitcoin Alpha Competition, Samara Alpha Management and Bitcoin Magazine Pro selected Animus Technologies, a Los Angeles-based digital assets fund, as the victor in what was a “breakthrough moment” for the fund manager. As winner of the competition, Animus was awarded $1 million in seed capital and access to Samara Alpha’s institutional-grade infrastructure for managing their fund. Animus and their CEO Maxmilian Pace were recognized on-stage at the Bitcoin Amsterdam conference for their AI-based model for capturing alpha in the Bitcoin market and were hand-selected for their innovative approach amongst 150 other talented applicants.Animus, which began…

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LATEST: Global Payment Processor PayPal Gains Approval from UK Regulator for Crypto Services

Payment giant PayPal has achieved registration with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as a crypto service provider, marking a significant development in the cryptocurrency industry. The FCA’s approval allows PayPal UK Limited to engage in specific crypto activities and advertise its services to local clients. Additionally, being on the FCA’s register enables PayPal to oversee its own crypto-related communications in compliance with recently implemented marketing regulations. This move comes after PayPal temporarily halted crypto purchases in the U.K. to adhere to regulatory requirements.

PayPal scores UK crypto license after brief local Bitcoin buy halt

Global payment giant PayPal has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer crypto services in the United Kingdom.

According to official FCA data, PayPal has been registered to offer “certain crypto asset activities” in the U.K. since Oct. 31, 2023.

According to the register, PayPal has requirements or restrictions placed on the financial services activities that it can operate.

“This includes, but is not limited to, ceasing on-boarding new customers and restricting existing customers to hold and sell functionality,” the information on the FCA register reads.

“The firm cannot expand its current offering in crypto assets,” the register notes, adding that…

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Ethereum Falls Below $1,800 Following ADP Report; Gala Becomes Top Loser

Bitcoin BTC/USD moved lower, but the cryptocurrency prices traded above the $34,400 level on Wednesday.

Ethereum ETH/USD also traded lower, falling below the key $1,800 mark this morning.

Theta Network THETA/USD was the top gainer over the prior 24 hours, while Gala GALA/USD turned out to be the biggest loser.

Private businesses in the U.S. added 113,000 workers in October, compared to market estimates of a 150,000 increase and versus a gain of 89,000 in the prior month.

At the time of writing, the global crypto market cap fell to $1.27 trillion, recording a 24-hour decline of 0.7%. BTC was trading lower by 0.3% at $34,401 while ETH fell by around 0.7% to $1,797 on Wednesday.

Here are the…

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AI and real-world assets gain prominence in investor discussions

As nations make progress in promoting the expansion of the artificial intelligence sector, market data from Santiment indicates an uptick in conversations among investors and traders regarding the potential of real-world assets and artificial intelligence.

At the same time, discussions concerning cryptocurrency prices have waned due to market volatility and stabilization, although there is now a growing sentiment surrounding BTC reaching $40,000. According to data from Santiment, this shift in market sentiment regarding the BTC price could be seen as a positive indicator for investors.

Santiment’s data reveals a discernible pattern, indicating that the level of search interest in…

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The Case For Union Workers In Bitcoin Mining

Recently in the news, a Pennsylvania Bill, the “Cryptocurrency Energy Conservation Act”, was stripped of language that would have created a 2 year moratorium on Bitcoin mining. The author of the bill, Rep. Greg Vitalli, cited staunch resistance to the moratorium stating “the strong opposition to sweeping changes to the state’s environmental laws is being pushed by trade labor unions.” Aside from the misguided and outdated attack on Bitcoin’s energy use, this begets the discussion; is there value to Bitcoin Miners employing union labor at U.S. mining facilities?

I can hear Max Kaiser now. “Bitcoin doesn’t need corrupt unions!” And he’s right, Bitcoin does not need…

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Coinbase opens up crypto futures trading to US investors

Eligible US traders can now access crypto futures via Coinbase Financial Markets.

The new launch — revealed Wednesday in a blog post — comes after the company gained clearance in August to operate as a futures commission merchant (FCM) from the National Futures Association. 

A futures contract is an agreement to buy or sell an asset at a certain price, and at a specific time in the future. 

“Futures provide traders with the ability to hedge their risk, diversify their portfolios, trade with leverage and speculate on which way the market will go — either up or down,” Coinbase Financial Markets CEO Andrew Sears wrote in a Wednesday blog post. 

Read more: CME says Q3 open…

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Custodia Bank CEO Caitlin Long Shares Insight on Bitcoin’s Future

Caitlin Long, CEO of Custodia Bank, a financial institution specializing in digital asset payment and custody solutions, has been making waves in the Bitcoin community with her outspoken views on the digital money’s future. In a recent interview, she shared her thoughts on BTC’s trajectory in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s actions and the challenges the market faces.

Caitlin Long Shares Her Views on Bitcoin

Long founded Custodia Bank after years of experience at renowned banks like Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. She came across Bitcoin in 2012 and started her investment journey in 2013. However, she started studying the future of Bitcoin a few years later when a…

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BlackRock ETF Bitcoin: Three Words On The Market’s Mind

“BlackRock ETF Bitcoin” seems to be the three words that are on everybody’s mind in the bitcoin markets’ realm these days.

The possibility that SEC Chair Gary Gensler may still reject pending Spot Bitcoin ETF applications from BlackRock and others, dashing hopes for approval, is the talk of the market according to Bloomberg ETF analysts who say they can’t rule out a last-minute denial.

Inconsistent Actions From The Securities And Exchange Commission

The SEC’s position on Spot Bitcoin ETFs has been a topic of discussion, especially since a 2019 video resurfaced showing Gensler describing the SEC’s stance on such products as “inconsistent.” Gensler pointed out the…

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Onyx Protocol exploiter begins siphoning $2.1M loot on Tornado Cash

Decentralized peer-to-peer lending protocol Onyx Protocol lost roughly $2.1 million in an exploit of a market with no liquidity that was deployed on Oct. 27. 

The Onyx Protocol hacker exploited a known bug, a rounding issue behind the popular CompoundV2 fork, explained blockchain investigator PeckShield soon after alerting about the hack that went unnoticed by the protocol.

#PeckShieldAlert @OnyxProtocol has been exploited for ~2.1M pic.twitter.com/5Z50tCg6MD

— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) November 1, 2023

The alleged liquidity lacking oPEPE market was “abused with donation to borrow funds from other markets with liquidity,” found PeckShield’s independent investigation on…

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