Until recently, cryptocurrency debit cards appeared to fall short of expectations. Despite many failed efforts in recent years, crypto debit cards are enjoying a second wind thanks to a surge in crypto prices over the summer. With some of the crypto world’s biggest names launching crypto debit cards, Cointelegraph takes a look at the latest updates in the burgeoning payments sector. What are cryptocurrency debit cards and how do they work? Cryptocurrency debit cards are almost exactly the same as the bank card you carry around every day in your wallet, except for the fact that you can use them …

Bitcoin (BTC) has more than tripled in 2019, moving from under $4,000 at the start of the year and then topping out at a little under $14,000 in June. In the earlier part of 2019, altcoins seemed to be performing strongly, with many calling the trend “altseason.” However, since Bitcoin began its 2019 charge starting with the “April Fool’s day rally,” most altcoins seem to be slipping when compared to the top-ranked cryptocurrency. There is now a growing debate about whether the altcoin market will experience the same massive price gains seen in Bitcoin during this current bullish cycle. Within …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. The bashing of Libra continues, with G7 finance ministers warning that if the project is not regulated tightly, it can upset the global financial system. The ministers are against a private company issuing its own currency without any control. Nonetheless, the project got support from unexpected quarters. The head of Germany's central bank Jens …

Wednesday, July 17— The number one cryptocurrency Bitcoin (BTC) is seeing slight gains on the day as major altcoins (ETH) and Ripple (XRP) rally. Market visualization. Source: Coin360 Bitcoin has been trending down this week. Bitcoin retook $13,000 on July 9 before sinking all the way down to under $10,000 by July 16. At press time, BTC is trading just over $9,800 with a 2.64% gain on the day. On July 4, analysts at SFOX conjectured that Bitcoin could rally in light of the American national holiday Independence Day, arguing that holidays in the midst of a bull market tend …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. Bitcoin rallied from $3,355 on Jan. 29 to a high of $13,973.5 on June 26. That is a gain of 316.49% in just under five months. In that, the last 56% of the rally happened after Facebook unveiled Libra. In the past few days, Libra has come under increased scrutiny from regulators and politicians …

For the entirety of cryptocurrency’s short history, Venezuela has been seen to be among the most striking example of the need for the utility. The South American country has hosted escalating political tension for years, as skyrocketing hyperinflation, electricity blackouts and shortages of vital food and medicine intensified popular discontent. Venezuelan trade volume dominates P2P markets Venezuelan peer-to-peer (P2P) markets have long been a leader in terms of volume, in part owing to widespread geo-blocking that targets Venezuelan citizens on the part of cryptocurrency exchanges. Recently, Binance announced that as of July 1, 2019, the residents of Venezuela and 28 …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. The sharp recovery from the lows led by Bitcoin was largely based on the pretext that institutional players had finally started to take greater interest in the asset class. The sharp uptick in Bitcoin futures volumes and increased demand for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust shares was thought to be indicative of this. However, Binance's chief …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. United States President Donald Trump bashed both Facebook’s Libra and Bitcoin in a series of tweets on July 11. However, the interesting thing is that unlike the U.S. stock markets, which respond sharply to Trump’s tweets, the crypto universe was unaffected. Many believe that the statement from Trump is a strong positive. According to …

The effect of block reward halvings for both Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (BTC) mining could be mitigated by merged mining, according to a report by a research arm of major crypto exchange Binance released on July 12. Following Charlie Lee’s prediction that some miners may shut down Litecoin mining after the halving, which is expected to take place on Aug. 5, 2019, Binance Research analyzed the potential of so-called merged mining to retain incentives for crypto miners. Merged mining is a practice of using the work done for one blockchain, or parent blockchain, on other smaller child blockchains by implementing …

American professional football team the Miami Dolphins announced that Litecoin (LTC) is now the team’s official cryptocurrency, according to a press release on July 11. The Miami Dolphins and Litecoin have also partnered with Aliant Payments, a crypto merchant services and payment processing firm, to enable crypto payments for the team’s upcoming 50/50 raffle, which reportedly donates half of its revenue to charity. Cryptocurrency users will reportedly be able to buy raffle tickets with LTC and Bitcoin (BTC), and can do so online or via in-stadium kiosks at Hard Rock Stadium. LTC and BTC are cryptocurrencies with similar technical underpinnings. …

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision. Market data is provided by the HitBTC exchange. CEO of BitMEX Arthur Hayes believes that Facebook’s Libra could make central and commercial banks irrelevant. It will be interesting to note whether this will force the commercial banks to walk down the crypto path. Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs certainly seems to be taking the first step. It has advertised a position for …

Litecoin (LTC) creator Charlie Lee has predicted that miners may shut up shop after the coin’s upcoming halving this summer. In an interview with Australian crypto news site Mickey on July 10, Lee reflected on the possible implications for Litecoin’s mining ecosystem when the planned halving kicks in and current block rewards on the network are reduced by 50%. “It’s always kind of a shock to the system,” he said, explaining: “When the mining rewards get cut in half, some miners will not be profitable and they will shut off their machine. If a big percentage does that, then blocks …