Bitcoin (BTC) took more than just a beating in the markets. The orange coin got the cold shoulder as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed his Salvadoran peer Nayib Bukele in the capital of Turkey to talk about a number of topics. While Bitcoin failed to be a talking point, it did not stop the Twitter rumor mill from going into overdrive. As part of the state visit, Bukele and Erdoğan kicked off with an official ceremony. Shortly afterward, they inaugurated the new Salvadoran embassy before agreeing on six deals covering the economy, trade, defense, diplomacy and education. The trade …

UFC heavyweight title holder Francis Ngannou has announced he will take half of his UFC 270 prize purse in Bitcoin (BTC) via Cash App. The French-Cameroonian MMA fighter will take on the undefeated Ciryl Gane on Jan. 23 and is set to earn a guaranteed $750,000. In a tweet published on Jan. 18, Ngannou noted that: "After doing a lot of research on Bitcoin, I really believe it is the future of money, man. Bitcoin is valuable, secure, and no one can mess with it." The event will take place inside the 18,000+ capacity Honda Center in Anaheim, California. In …

According to a recent report by Cointelegraph Research, the volume of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) sold this year could eclipse $18 billion. From artwork, music and in-game characters to videos and photographs, these minted certificates of ownership for digital assets on blockchains are well sought after by collectors, investors and philanthropists alike. They can also be freely traded across decentralized NFT platforms such as OpenSea. Without further ado, let's look at the biggest trends developing in the NFTs space. 1. Celebrity and contemporary NFTs Of course, at the number one place this year, as there was no shortage of NFT drops …

The sports industry took a hard hit from the coronavirus pandemic. Most leagues got suspended, and then teams played without the audience for an extended period. Sports clubs started to seek out new revenue streams, and the crypto industry arrived to aid with juicy deals. Numerous partnerships between major sports clubs grabbed headlines over the last year. Even national teams and major club unions joined the trend. So, it became even more surprising when FC Barcelona and Manchester City, two of the biggest soccer clubs in Europe, terminated their crypto-related sponsorship deals in the same week. FC Barcelona canceled its …

The New York Digital Investment Group will be paying the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets franchise in Bitcoin as part of a partnership aimed at promoting crypto education and adoption. In a Nov. 16 announcement, the Houston Rockets said the New York Digital Investment Group, or NYDIG, would become the team’s official Bitcoin (BTC) services partner and platform. As part of the partnership, NYDIG is planning to name some of the Rockets’ premium seating at the Toyota Center in Houston the ‘Bitcoin Suites.’ The deal with the NYDIG seems to be part of a larger strategy for Rockets owner Tilman …

Team Liquid, the esports and gaming organization operating across major titles including League of Legends and Fortnite, has inked a four-year agreement with Coinbase. In a Nov. 10 announcement, Team Liquid said the partnership with the U.S.-based crypto exchange would be aimed at highlighting “the crossover between gaming and crypto-curious audiences” as well as creating new seemingly crypto-focused content. Coinbase will be enabling crypto payments for Team Liquid’s online marketplace, and both will be collaborating on technology aimed at encouraging fan engagement. “Like a lot of our fans, crypto was new to me once, but once I started reading and …

Jules Urbach, the CEO and founder of OTOY, wants to democratize content creation, specifically as it pertains to virtual assets. OTOY’s technology intends to fulfill the promise of an open cloud-based metaverse via the Render Network — the first decentralized GPU rendering network & 3D marketplace built on OTOY's OctaneRender NFT ecosystem. While at the inaugural Solana Breakpoint conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Urbach announced Render Network’s integration with the Solana blockchain, as well as a partnership with NFT minting platform Metaplex. Urbach noted that the project's recent move to Solana happened for a variety of reasons. He mentioned that Solana …

Global crypto exchange Binance is starting a 100 million euro ($115 million) initiative to develop the blockchain and crypto ecosystem in French and Europe, Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao announced in a talk with French Minister Cédric O at the French Ministry of Finance in Paris. Binance is launching the new initiative, officially named Objective Moon, in partnership with the local financial technology association France FinTech. The association will help Binance connect and work with the local fintech sector, a Binance spokesperson told Cointelegraph. According to the announcement, Objective Moon would see the development of a Binance Research and Development …

Crypto lending firm BlockFi has formed a business with New York-based investment management company Neuberger Berman for the development and distribution of crypto products including exchange-traded funds. In an Oct. 25 announcement, BlockFi said the joint venture, BlockFi Nb, expects to “launch crypto asset management products, including ETFs and other traditional structures,” giving investors exposure to crypto in their brokerage accounts. According to the two firms, the partnership will combine BlockFi’s retail and institutional crypto solutions with Neuberger Berman's suite of crypto strategies. "We are witnessing a significant shift in investor sentiment towards digital assets, and we believe that digital …

Consumer entertainment products giant MGA Entertainment is moving into the nonfungible token (NFT) industry by turning its best-selling toys into digital collectibles on blockchain. The American toy giant is preparing to roll out an NFT functionality for its world-famous brand L.O.L. Surprise, allowing fans to mint NFTs, display their character collection, and buy, sell and trade digital collectibles online. To enable the new feature, MGA has partnered with Ioconic, a London-based partnership business for brand owners, offering exposure to the NFT and digital asset industry. The startup will enable an online gaming hub for the L.O.L. Surprise trading card game, …

Bitso, a major cryptocurrency exchange in Latin America, will be the core crypto service provider for El Salvador’s official Bitcoin (BTC) wallet, known as Chivo. In conjunction with Bitcoin becoming legal tender in El Salvador, Bitso announced on Tuesday that the firm would assist El Salvador in launching the state-supported BTC wallet alongside companies like Silvergate Bank, digital currency company Athena Bitcoin and blockchain firm Algorand. Silvergate Bank, a California state-chartered commercial bank and a United States Federal Reserve member, will work with Bitso to facilitate U.S. dollar transactions for the Chivo wallet. Athena Bitcoin will provide some front-end services …

The United States-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Genesis Digital Assets continues to grow its cryptocurrency mining power with a fresh deal with Chinese crypto mining giant Canaan. Genesis announced on Tuesday that it has secured a purchase order for 20,000 Bitcoin miners from Canaan. In conjunction with the new purchase, Canaan has also granted Genesis an opportunity to buy up to 180,000 additional BTC mining machines. Genesis co-founder and executive chairman Abdumalik Mirakhmedov noted that the new batch of Bitcoin miners will help the firm to further expand its mining operations in North America and the Nordics. He added that …