Archive for the ‘Bitcoin’ Category

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust’s alleged wallet addresses released by … – Cointelegraph

Blockchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence claims to have identified the addresses of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The trust consists of more than 1,750 addresses holding a total of over $16 billion worth of Bitcoin (BTC), according to a Sept. 6 thread on X (formerly Twitter). Arkham claimed that Grayscale is the 2nd largest BTC entity globally.

The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust holds over $16 billion in BTC. Its issuer, Grayscale, is currently battling with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as it attempts to transformthe trust into an exchange-traded fund.

Members of the Bitcoin community have long speculated about where Grayscale keeps its huge stockpile of BTC. Grayscale has so far refused to provide the addresses of its wallets, citing security concerns. Some X users have criticized Grayscale for not releasing the addresses, accusing it of carrying less Bitcoin than it claims.

A search for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust within Arkham on Sept. 9 revealed the following five addresses:

The first three addresses hold roughly $51 million worth of Bitcoin in total, according to Arkham. The last two hold no funds but do show transactions coming from other Grayscale Bitcoin Trust addresses, including 1L8k2SD9sdTTzdDxA19QdobLbUyKyV2RVi and 1CS1M4oVbcFnZjZ5hU5bk6vLi2Q5VSsmpX. Arkham does not provide a full list of addresses for the Grayscale entity, but it does label each Grayscale address clearly as part of the transaction history of each wallet.

Related: Vivek Ramaswamy: Grayscale win clears a path for Bitcoin innovation

Grayscales entity page on Arkham shows it is carrying 627,779,000 BTC valued at over $16 billion.

This is similar to the amount claimed on Grayscales website, implying that it does have enough Bitcoin to satisfy withdrawals.

Arkham has often come under criticism for revealing private information about blockchain users, as some X users have labeled it a snitch-to-earn platform. However, the platforms CEO has argued the company is only trying to even the playing field between big institutions and smaller players who would otherwise lack information.

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Grayscale Bitcoin Trust's alleged wallet addresses released by ... - Cointelegraph

Aussie fintech prays for crypto clarity as it launches Bitcoin-backed … – Cointelegraph

Australian fintech firm Block Earner is charging ahead with plans to launch a crypto-backed loans product, despite staring down an upcoming court date with the financial regulator for allegedly offering financial products without a license.

The new crypto loan product allows Australian crypto investors to use crypto as collateral to borrow cash. Similarly, a Colorado-based lending platform called SALT offers crypto-backed loans to U.S. clients. The major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase once offered a similar service to its U.S. customers but shuttered it in May this year.

The initial rollout from Block Earner is expected at the end of September and will initially only allow loans using Bitcoin as collateral.

Block Earner co-founder Charlie Karaboga told Cointelegraph that the new loan products have been designed in a very conservative way in a bid to fit neatly into an existing licensing model.

Karabogas firm was burned in last November when it was sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for allegedly offering crypto-linked fixed-yield earning products without an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license.

At the time, Karaboga lashed out against the regulator for its lack of clarity, claiming that his firm had spent considerable time and resources building out products he believed were compliant with ASICs existing guidelines.

Like any company in the fintech ecosystem, before we launched the product we got legal opinions. We think that there was no sufficient regulation, or sufficient licenses for us to apply, Karaboga added.

However, Charlie said that the regulatory moves against Block Earner and competitor crypto company Finder were largely reactive and likely due to the collapse ofFTXin November.

We were impacted, unfortunately, most likely probably because we were more visible with our product compared to others, because they were using as an ancillary product, whereas we were using a core product.

Despite being unaffected by the fallout of FTX, in the wake of ASICs legal action, Karaboga said he closed the companys earn products and paid back all users.

The company appears to have learned its lesson. James Coombes, head of business at Block Earner, said the new launch wouldnt see the same fate as their Earn product, as it already fits within the rules of an Australian credit license.

There is a core difference, said Coombes. The Earn product there was no clear guidance on whether or not a license was required, and thats why we hold a conflicting view. Whereas this one, the clear guidance is that a license is required to provide consumer credit. So we went and got the license.

Looking forward, Karaboga said that faster regulatory progression in jurisdictions such as Singapore, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom will pressure the Australian government to catch up, or risk losing market share of crypto enterprises.

Karaboga explained that because Australia is one of the wealthiest countries by way of per-capita GDP and because Australians were early starters in the crypto industry, its citizens had become prime targets for scammers.

Ultimately, Karaboga asserted that domestic regulators are firmly pro-crypto and want to push that innovation moving forward.

This is a view that was shared by Binance Australia General Manager Ben Rose,who recently told Cointelegraph he was confidentthat Aussie regulators would side with crypto in the long term.

As recently as Sept. 6, Coinbase listed Australia as one of its primary locations for expansion outside of the U.S.

Block Earners Federal Court hearing is scheduled for November this year, with a decision to be handed down by January.

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

Magazine: How to protect your crypto in a volatile market Bitcoin OGs and experts weigh in

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Aussie fintech prays for crypto clarity as it launches Bitcoin-backed ... - Cointelegraph

Best Bitcoin Casinos in 2023: Top Crypto Casino Sites to Play BTC … – Analytics Insight

Crypto gambling is now mainstream, and there are hundreds of Bitcoin casinos doing everything in their power to attract as many players as possible.

This makes it difficult to know who to trust which is something were here to help with.

Our expert team has tested over 100 crypto gambling sites to bring you the ultimate list of the 10 best Bitcoin casinos that offer payouts within minutes, no KYC, thousands of games by leading developers, and customer support that you can depend on.

Lets dive in and discover the findings of our research, shall we?

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In the virtually unlimited cosmos of online Bitcoin casinos, 7bit shines like a supernova. Its a highly popular Bitcoin casino with 7,000+ casino games and payouts within minutes and is among the first casinos to adopt provably fair games.

Youll be hard-pressed to find a list of the best cryptocurrency casinos that dont include 7Bit, which is evidence enough of the sites quality.

Selection of Crypto Games: 4.9/5

With over 7,000 online casino games from the best-known providers, 7bit has it all. Some of the top-rated slot games here include Mummyland Treasures, Throne of Camelot, Aloha King Elvis, and Alien Fruits, among others.

Slots are only one aspect of the selection, though 7bit offers much more. This includes Texas Holdem Poker, Teen Patty, Pai Gow Poker, blackjack, roulette, and many other games in the table games section.

7bit is home to several popular progressive jackpot slots, too, including well-known titles like Chicago Bang, Bang, Frozen Mirror, The Money Mania, Witch Treasures Hold & Win, and many more.

What we love about 7bit is their Instant Games edition, offering over 105 games, with the most famous being Aviator, Heads & Tails, Crazyhunt, and King of Jumping Scratch with over $30,000 in prizes.

Bitcoin Bonuses: 4.8/5

By joining 7bit Casino, youll be able to claim a massive welcome bonus of 5 BTC and 100 free spins divided into 4 deposit bonuses:

All bonuses need to be wagered 40x before you can withdraw your winnings, and you have 14 days to meet the wagering requirements.

Youll also get access to several tempting promotions once you finish the welcome package, as outlined below:

Payout Speed & Fees: 5/5

BTC payouts at 7bit are extremely fast and processed within 10 minutes. Apart from Bitcoin, you can fund your account with Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Ethereum, USDT, Ripple, Tron, Cardano, and Binance Coin.

The minimum deposit is $20, and all crypto transactions are free of any fees.

>> Get a 5 BTC Bonus + 100 Free Spins [7Bit]

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Bitstarz Casino isnt just talk among casino gamblers. It has been a hot topic since its inception, especially if you want the best selection of crypto casino games and payouts within 8 minutes.

Stay with us to learn more about why Bitstarz ranks among the best Bitcoin casino sites.

Selection of Crypto Games: 4.8/5

Bitstarz has roughly 4,900 high-quality slots, progressive jackpot slots, and original Bitstarz games. Featuring such a massive gaming library, we can certainly say this isnt a website youll find boring anytime soon.

The slot games category at Bitstarz is healthy and vivid. Youll find thousands of 3-reels, 5-reels, Megaways, bonus buy games, and feature-rich games like Candy 100 and Pendragon Legend. These games are powered by over 30 providers like Platipus, Playson, and Belatra Games.

We also noticed some jackpots ready to be won here such as the $76,146 jackpot that was active on Atlantean Cigarise while writing this review. Other jackpot slots are Holmes and the Stolen Stones, Ozwins Jackpots, Hoonga Boonga, and more.

In addition, the table games department has an equally impressive collection. It includes all the time-tested classics and introduces players to a few new games like Rocket Dice.

What we particularly like about Bitstarz Casino is their in-house Bitstarz originals. Some original titles are Plinko Original, Blackjack Original, Mines Original, and more games.

Bitcoin Bonuses: 4.7/5

Right off the bat, we like that a large welcome bonus is up for grabs for new players at Bitstarz Casino. The breakdown is as follows:

The minimum deposit required for getting these bonuses is the BTC equivalent of $20.

Besides the welcome package, there are a bunch of other thrilling promotions:

Payout Speed & Fees: 5/5

The payout speed at Bitstarz is 8 minutes on average the fastest withdrawal speed of all other Bitcoin casinos.

Except for Bitcoin, you can fund your account with Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, XRP, Dogecoin, Tether, Cardano, TRON, and BNB.

Did you run out of crypto? No problem! You can buy it on-site with Moonpay or Changelly. We recommend you use Changelly because it has no fees, unlike Moonpay, which has a 4.5% fee.

>> Get a 5 BTC Bonus and 180 Free Spins [Bitstarz]

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Mirax Casino sets itself apart with 10-minute payouts on average and an immersive gaming experience that features a wide variety of slots, table games, and the largest selection of instant win games.

Selection of Crypto Games: 4.7/5

By partnering with over 30 software providers, including top dogs like Betsoft Gaming, Nucleus Gaming, Endorphina, Mascot, and more, Mirax Casino features a large selection of over 4,000 games on a single platform.

All slot games are neatly organized in categories: top, new, bonus wagering, bonus buy, jackpots, and Megaways all available for demo play.

Weve played some industry-famous titles like Aztec Magic Bonanza and Lady Wolf Moon, and we didnt experience any lagging on mobile and desktop.

The table game section doesnt leave anything to be desired, either. The games are a perfect combo of amazing gameplay and high payouts, with around 70 provably fair table games you can choose from.

Since the 1950s, instant win games have been a popular form of entertainment. However, they are now experiencing a new explosion because of crypto casinos. Miraxs library has around 85 such games, including Plinko, Thimbles, Ancient Troy, Piggy Bank, and more.

All in all, a top-notch game library. Shout-out.

Bitcoin Bonuses: 4.6/5

Mirax Casino is generous with its welcome bonuses and promotions. They offer a fantastic welcome bonus up to 5 BTC divided across 4 deposits:

There is a higher wagering requirement of 45x attached to the welcome bonus, though.

Mirax Casino also has a few great ongoing promotions for their existing players to enjoy, including:

Payout Speed & Fees: 5/5

Mirax Casino accepts plenty of different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ripple, Binance Chain, Tron, and Cardano.

There are a few fees to expect on LTC and BTC deposits, although they are 2.5% and in line with industry standards.

Nearly all payouts are processed within 10 minutes at Mirax. Incredible stuff.

>> Get a 5 BTC Bonus + 150 Free Spins [Mirax]

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If youre searching for exclusive casino games mixed with sports and eSports betting MyStake is the best Bitcoin casino to join.

Offering some of the best crypto slots and cashback structures, this casino stands out with its innovative design, user-friendly interface, and an impressive array of exclusive in-house games.

Selection of Crypto Games: 4.8/5

MyStake offers a staggering collection of over 3,000 casino games from renowned software providers like Pragmatic Play, Microgaming, Big Time Gaming, Playn GO, and more.

Slot games are organized into the following categories: popular, exclusive, bonus buy, Megaways, Jackpot games, and new games.

Some great titles to try with impressive graphics and gameplay are Mystery of Eldorado, White Rabbit, Money Train, and more.

The star of the show, though, is the collection of 12 exclusive casino games, including Roulette, Chicken, Dino, Icefield, Teleport, Blackjack, and more.

Players at MyStake can also choose from over 50 live casino games, including live roulette, blackjack, poker, and baccarat from Lucky Streak.

MyStake even allows you to place bets on over 30 sports and eSports. An all-you-can-eat-buffet crypto gambling site indeed.

Bitcoin Bonuses: 4.5/5

The welcome offer is always the most exciting part of joining a new online casino, and MyStake doesnt disappoint (too much).

On your first deposit, you can get a 170% bonus up to $1,000 for crypto deposits. Note that the minimum deposit required to qualify for the bonus is $20.

The wagering requirements of 30x attached to this bonus are extremely fair.

You can also look forward to other promotions at MyStake, including:

If youre a sports bettor, dont miss out on the dedicated sports promotions page, where you can find match bonuses, cashback, reload bonuses, and boosted odds promotions.

Payout Speed & Fees: 4.6/5

MyStake has a great selection of crypto options to suit the needs of its players. In fact, this site accepts the most cryptocurrencies on our list of the best Bitcoin casinos.

You can make your deposit with Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, Tether, Tron, Dogecoin, USD Coin, BUSD, Monero, and BNB.

The same options are available for withdrawals with a minimum cashout of $50 and a maximum of $7,500, except TRON, which has a maximum withdrawal of $1,000. Payouts take 1 hour to process on average.

>> Get 170% up to $1,000 Bonus + 10% Monthly Cashback [MyStake]

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KatsuBet is a fantastic Bitcoin gambling site that provides a huge welcome bonus for new players of 5 BTC + 200 free spins on your first four deposits.

Selection of Crypto Games: 4.4/5

Katsubet is the perfect place to play crypto casino games, thanks to its vast collection of over 4,000 titles. Youll find everything you can imagine here, including hot slot titles such as Hold the Gold, Power of Olympus, Candy Finity, and more.

You can also pick your favorite game from the collections of Megaways, Egypt-themed games, high RTP games, Monster games, and more.

If you want to dive into the dynamic action of cryptocurrency gambling, visit the Bitcoin section, and youll find many exciting titles like For the Realm, Dice Bonanza, Take the Bank, Neon Capital, and more.

The table games area features games like Classic Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, and Sic Bo, while the video poker category provides multi-hand variations of well-known games like All Aces Poker, Joker Poker, and Jacks or Better.

Bitcoin Bonuses: 4.9/5

This is the area where Katsubet excels. New players at this online Bitcoin casino have access to an exciting welcome package worth 5 BTC and 200 free spins separated into four deposits as follows:

Wagering requirements for bonuses are 45x with unlimited maximum winnings from the welcome bonus and free spins.

In addition, there and many promotions such as:

Payout Speed & Fees: 4.5/5

Katsubets payout speed does not exceed 30 minutes. There is a $5 fee for Bitcoin deposits, $0.23 for Litecoin deposits, and a $1 fee for Tether deposits.

Other payment options at Katsubet are Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Ripple, USDT, Binance Coin, and TRON.

There are no fees attached to withdrawals; the maximum you can withdraw is $4,000.

>> Get 100% up to 5 BTC + 100 free spins [Katsubet]

With the crypto gambling industry being on a tremendous rise and set to hit $65.7 billion in revenue by 2027 you can only expect the number of new crypto casinos opening up and staking a claim for your bets.

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Best Bitcoin Casinos in 2023: Top Crypto Casino Sites to Play BTC ... - Analytics Insight

Thinking About Buying Dogecoin? Buy Bitcoin Instead – The Motley Fool

After cratering in 2022 as a result of rapidly rising interest rates and a risk-off sentiment from investors, the cryptocurrency market has bounced back this year. And this might draw renewed interest in the space.

Dogecoin, the eighth-most-valuable digital asset, surprisingly hasn't benefited from the broader market's rally. Its price is down 7% in 2023 (as of June 22). A reversal of this downtrend may be in the cards.

But if you're looking at buying Dogecoin for your portfolio in hopes of capturing huge gains, think again. I believe it's a much better idea to use that money to buy Bitcoin instead. Here's why this is a no-brainer decision.

In 2013, programmers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer wanted to create a lighthearted and fun version of Bitcoin, so they launched Dogecoin. That was really the only purpose behind the dog-inspired meme token. Although its price is down 91% from its peak, Dogecoin has skyrocketed over 2,400% in the last five years, so it has probably made some investors extremely wealthy.

But Dogecoinwas invented with no real-world utility in mind. And even after being in existence for a decade, it still hasn't found much in the way of mass adoption. According to cryptwerk.com, only 2,167merchants worldwide accept payment in Dogecoin.

Moreover, it's clear that this token's price moves up and down based on various hype cycles. Two years ago, the Reddit-fueled craze that helped the share prices of GameStopand AMC Entertainmentalso trickled over to the crypto market. And tweets by Teslafounder and CEO Elon Musk can pump up the price in short order.

You can't time this kind of social media-powered activity, and trying to do so is not a good investment thesis.

As the world's first and largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin's current market cap of $585 billion crushes that of any other digital asset. And this gives it critical network effects that the smaller Dogecoin can't compete with. In fact, Bitcoin's more-than-14-year existence proves that it can handle anything thrown its way, from major crypto firms blowing up to significant volatility. It's still here, and its price has soared 81% this year alone.

While some investors and economists might view Bitcoin as a potential global reserve currency in the future, its most promising investment trait right now centers on it becoming more popular as a store of value. Throughout history, gold has been thought of as the best store of value. But Bitcoin has properties that make it superior to the precious metal.

Bitcoin is easier to transport across vast distances, and it's easier to transact with. This is obvious because it's digital. Bitcoin can also be divided by up to eight decimal places. And most importantly, the supply of Bitcoin is absolutely finite, with a hard cap of 21 million coins built into the bitcoin network's source code.

While gold is valued for its use in jewelry and certain industrial and medical applications, gold's largest advantage, in my opinion, is that it has been used in some form as money or a store of value for thousands of years. Bitcoin can't compete with this lengthy history, but the digital asset should attract more interest from younger and more tech-savvy investors.

A huge dark cloud over the overall crypto industry is the threat of a regulatory crackdown. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbasefor operating unregistered brokerages and exchanges. But while this adds a huge element of uncertainty, there is an encouraging development for Bitcoin in particular.

According to Reuters, the massive asset manager BlackRock has filed to launch a Bitcoin-focused exchange-traded fund (ETF). This is a clear indicator that a huge player in financial markets sees the opportunity to get aggressive as two crypto exchanges are under heat.

And this could prove to be a huge boon for Bitcoin's long-term adoption. If BlackRock gets approved for this ETF, it could open the floodgates for both retail and institutional investors to gain easy access to Bitcoin. A growing base of buyers will only push up the demand for this fixed-supply asset.

Neil Patel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, and Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Thinking About Buying Dogecoin? Buy Bitcoin Instead - The Motley Fool

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Up 79% in Days; Here Are Possible Reasons for … – U.Today

According to on-chain analytics firm Santiment, Bitcoin cash has been the biggest beneficiary since a new crypto exchange backed by firms including Citadel Securities, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Charles Schwab Corp. EDX Markets went live.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) has surged by nearly 79% in the past four days after EDX listed the token alongside Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and Litecoin (LTC).

"With the assistance of EDXMarkets, launched on June 20, Bitcoin Cash has been the biggest beneficiary, with a massive +79% price gain in 4 days. Notably, BCH has seen a 3-year high in social discussion rates, and volume has easily eclipsed 2023 highs," Santiment wrote.

While social dominance has reached its highest point since 2020, Santiment notes that BCH volume is robust, hitting 2023 highs.

After hitting intraday highs above $200, not seen since May 2022, BCH was up 35.76% in the last 24 hours at $193 at the time of writing.

In the past seven days, BCH has been up more than 80%, according to CoinMarketCap data. BCH has thus reentered the top 20 with a current market capitalization of $3.75 billion.

As traders rushed into the current market spike to profit, BCH's 24-hour trading volume also increased by over 425%.

The rest of the market received a spark of positivity after Bitcoin hit its highest level in a year following high-profile exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings in the U.S. of late. A few often dormant altcoins are soaring as a result of the market's increased optimism. Notably, Bitcoin and Ethereum forks are soaring.

Bitcoin SV is up 24% in the last 24 hours. Ethereum Classic (ETC) is up 13%, as is EthereumPoW (ETHW), which is up 20% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin Cash's upcoming halving in the next 286 days remains another positive catalyst.

The subsequent Bitcoin Cash halving is expected to occur on or around April 6, 2024, according to OKLink. After that, rewards for mining Bitcoin Cash will decrease from 6.25 BCH to 3.125 BCH. There are currently 41,297 blocks remaining for this event.

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Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Up 79% in Days; Here Are Possible Reasons for ... - U.Today