Decentralized mortgage lender Bacon Protocol officially launched on Tuesday, allowing cryptocurrency investors to participate in the housing market through a new stablecoin that’s backed by USD Coin (USDC) and home loans. In addition to launching its protocol, Bacon announced Tuesday that it is holding a public sale of bHome token, which is described as a Stable+ Coin that’s backed “dollar for dollar” by USDC, liens and loans on properties in the United States. Early participants in the sale will be eligible to receive additional rewards via the BACON governance token. Bacon Protocol works by giving homeowners the ability to exchange …

Major U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley has more than doubled its shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust since April. According to a report from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, filed Sept. 27, the Morgan Stanley Europe Opportunity Fund, which invests in established and emerging companies throughout Europe, owned 58,116 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, as of July 31. At the time of publication, the price of GBTC is $34.28, making the investment bank’s exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) roughly $2 million — Morgan Stanley reported thatthe shares cost $2.4 million. Previous filings show that Morgan …

The average portfolio size on Australian cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets has grown from $577.65 (795.5 AUD) to $2,069.16 (2849.5 AUD) in the financial year 2021, signaling a 258.2% increase in portfolio holdings, according to exchange data compiled by Statista on a recent BTC Markets survey. Data on the survey shows that the average portfolio size of female and male investors in fiscal 20–21 on BTC Markets was $1,924.30 (2,650 AUD) and $2,214.03 (3,049 AUD), respectively. However, in 2020, the average portfolio size of female Aussie investors exceeded male investors slightly. Transaction data on the exchange also showed a pattern of …

The first half of 2021 in the crypto markets brought many comparisons to 2017. Bitcoin (BTC) was on a tear to its all-time high, the new frontier of decentralized finance emerged, and nonfungible tokens were gaining myriad celebrity endorsements. But after the initial months of euphoria and a subsequent sell-off, BTC’s performance has been far more lackluster. The recent market sell-off resulting from the Evergrande crisis has compounded fears. However, it can’t be ignored that many altcoins, particularly platform tokens, have undergone impressive runs and, in some cases, even bucked broader market trends. With hopes still high that another bull …

The legal status of cryptocurrencies remains a mixed bag of regulatory positions, depending on the jurisdiction being considered. While some countries move toward blanket prohibitions or stringent regulations, others elect to go with a more open approach to crypto. For Ukraine, the latter path appears to be the case, with the government encouraging legalized crypto operations within the country. Ukraine’s seemingly positive stance on cryptocurrencies also stands in stark contrast with neighboring Russia where officials are enacting regulatory roadblocks against the ownership and use of digital currencies. While Ukraine enacts laws to recognize and regulate crypto, the country’s central bank …

Tune in to watch Cointelegraph host and analyst Benton Yaun alongside resident market experts Jordan Finneseth and Marcel Pechman. Here’s what to expect in this week’s markets news breakdown: After failing to reach $50,000, Bitcoin (BTC) slid back down to $40,000 on Monday before recovering to $44,000. What, or who, was behind this pullback? Dogecoin (DOGE) is gaining popularity even though transaction levels are at a low. Why is this happening? United States President Joe Biden nominated a new head for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Saule Omarova, who is an anti-crypto law professor. If this nomination …

One River Digital, a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund offering exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), has closed its first funding round after launching last year. One River Digital president Sebastian Bea confirmed Wednesday that the company had raised $41 million in a Series A financing round from investors, including Goldman Sachs and Coinbase Ventures. Other investors included American diversified global insurer Liberty Mutual Insurance and an alternative investment management firm, Infinity Investment Partners, as One River Digital announced on Tuesday. According to the One River Digital president, the fresh capital will help the company to increase its investment opportunities to …

Bitcoin (BTC) mining company BIT Mining plans to invest $12.14 million to develop an 85-megawatt crypto mining center in Ohio. As the company that owns the entire mining pool business operated under BTC.com, BIT Mining set up a joint venture agreement with Viking Data Centers to establish the Bitcoin mining facility. As part of the JV agreement, BIT Mining will pay $10.84 million in cash to Viking Data with the remaining sum to be settled in cash or company stock. Following its investment in Viking Data and the subsequent JV agreement, BIT Mining will own 51% of the Ohio Bitcoin …

With venture capital funding seemingly prioritizing emerging technology, the blockchain industry experiences a significant influx of capital from corporate backers. According to the Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021 published on Wednesday, blockchain-based businesses account for 10% of startups worldwide. The figure is part of a more significant trend that has seen emerging technology become a fast-growing sub-sector in terms of early-stage funding. The report divides startups into growing, matured and declining sub-sectors. Unsurprisingly, blockchain technology is in the first group, where the average growth rate is 107%, along with agriculture technology (agtech) and new food, advanced manufacturing and robotics, artificial …

There’s no denying that the last couple of years have seen the altcoin sector blossom and have a major impact on the crypto market at large. In fact, a quick look at data available on Google Trends shows us that searches related to the term “Ethereum killer” have been soaring over the past 90-days, signaling a growing interest among investors in various altcoins. In this regard, a few cryptocurrencies — such as Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polkadot’s DOT and Terra (LUNA) — have made a major market push recently. SOL, in particular, has been turning a lot of heads among …

Cryptocurrency assets held by institutional managers rose for a fifth consecutive week, a sign that market participants had once again flipped bullish on Bitcoin (BTC) and the leading altcoins. Investment flows into crypto products totaled $42 million in the week ending on Sept. 19, with Bitcoin funds seeing inflows of $15 million, according to digital asset manager CoinShares. That’s only the third time in 16 weeks that BTC investment products saw positive inflows. All major assets registered a weekly increase, with investors buying up $6.6 million worth of Ether (ETH) products and $3.7 million worth of multi-asset funds. Investors also …

German financial regulators have approved a security token offering (STO) based on a Bitcoin (BTC) sidechain. Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) has greenlighted the EXOeu token by game publisher Exordium, making local retail investors eligible to participate in the sale on Stokr, a major European digital marketplace. German investors can invest in EXOeu via Stokr with a minimum investment amount of $100. EXOeu is the second STO ever approved for the German market on Stokr after BaFin approved an STO by parking network ParkinGO last year. Launched in January 2021, the EXOeu security token is raising funds for the …