2024-08-26 07:32
Analysts polled by FactSet are expecting Nvidia to hit earnings of 65 cents per share, up 141% year-over-year. Major cryptocurrencies like Ether, Solana, and XRP showed slight losses over the past 24 hours, despite a general uptick over the weekend. AI-related tokens like Artificial Superintelligence Alliance's FET and Bittensor's TAO led the market gains, rising 8.8% and 4.7% respectively, ahead of Nvidia's anticipated earnings report. The broader market, represented by the CoinDesk 20, remained flat, with expectations of continued market improvement due to potential rate cuts and economic stabilization. Bitcoin (BTC) slid under the $64,000 level in Asian trading hours Monday, after a 5% bump on Friday following favorable comments from Jackson Hole. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Friday that a monetary easing cycle will begin next month - easing headwinds around risk assets as the lure of cheap money helped buoy prices. Major tokens jumped through Saturday, but registered slight losses in the past 24 hours. Ether (ETH) traded just over $2,700, while Solana’s SOL and xrp (XRP) were changing hands at $158 and 58 cents, respectively. Meanwhile, while Tron’s TRX jumped 3% as an ongoing memecoin frenzy continues to add demand for the token. The broad-based CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a liquid index of the largest tokens by market capitalization, was lower by 0.44%. Traders said they expect the current rally to continue in the next few months. “As inflation is more or less under control now, the market focus will shift to the labor market and on whether Fed will successfully deliver a soft landing for US economy,” Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, told CoinDesk in a Telegram message Monday. “We expect the market sentiment will continue to improve in the next few months as rate cuts are on the way while the economy stabilizes and potential crypto-friendly policies if Trump gets elected.” AI tokens charge ahead of Nvidia earnings Artificial Intelligence tokens led the market on Monday, as traders in Asia poured money into FET, the token of the 'Artificial Superintelligence Alliance', as well as Bittensor (TAO). The move in to AI tokens comes ahead of Nvidia's (NVDA) widely anticipated earnings on August 28. FET is up 8.8% as of early afternoon Hong Kong time while (TAO) is up 4.7%. Historically, Nvidia has been a bellweather for the growing AI token space with tokens edging up in anticipation of its earnings. Analysts polled by FactSet expect this quarter's earnings per share to be a blockbuster event with earnings of 65 cents per share, a 141% increase from the previous year, with revenue expected to reach $28.72 billion, up 113%. This would be Nvidia's fifth consecutive quarter of triple-digit growth, with the tech sector expected to perform strongly throughout the rest of the year given that the Fed will likely cut rates in September. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/26/ai-tokens-lead-crypto-market-ahead-of-nvidia-earnings-bitcoin-under-64k/
2024-08-26 07:06
As many as 11 entities are applicants for a full license with the regulator. Hong Kong's regulator has found "unsatisfactory practices" at some crypto exchanges seeking full licenses in the region after conducting on-site inspections. If this results in the cancellation of some temporary licenses handed out to the 11 applicants for full licenses, it may throw a spanner in the works of Hong Kong's pursuit of trying to become a global hub for crypto. Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has found "unsatisfactory practices" at "some" of the cryptocurrency exchanges seeking a full license from it after conducting on-site inspections, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the situation. "Some of the crypto firms are overly reliant on a handful of executives to oversee the custody of client assets, while others aren’t properly guarding against cybercrime risks," the report cited. An SFC spokesperson told Bloomberg that while it had conducted some inspections which were still ongoing and subject to change, it doesn't comment on specific cases. For platforms that are unable to remedy “critical deficiencies identified during on-site inspections, the SFC may opt to remove their deemed-to-be-licensed status or refuse their license applications,” the spokesperson added. The SFC declined to add any more details to the statement given to Bloomberg. The SFC has not named which entities had "critical deficiencies." As many as 11 entities have applied for a full license with the SFC, including Crypto.com, HKbitEX, PantherTrade and Bullish, the Bloomberg report said. The applicants named did not immediately respond to CoinDesk's request for comment. Bullish is the owner of CoinDesk. In late May, the SFC said it would conduct such on-site inspections of those crypto trading platforms which were interested in continuing to pursue their licensing applications. As many as 12 entities including OKX and ByBit withdrew their applications. OSL and HashKey are the only two fully licensed exchanges in Hong Kong. The latest development may throw a spanner in the works of Hong Kong's pursuit of trying to become a global hub for crypto which saw it approve spot-crypto products earlier this year. Read More: Hong Kong Will Inspect Offices of Crypto Platforms as Important Compliance Deadline Looms https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/08/26/hong-kong-regulator-finds-unsatisfactory-practices-at-some-crypto-entities-seeking-full-license-report/
2024-08-26 05:37
The company says its CEO has nothing to hide as Toncoin's losses subside. Telegram said in a statement that it is compliant with all EU laws. The platform said it's always working to improve its content moderation practices. Messaging app Telegram said that it is fully complies with European Union law and its content moderation practices are within "industry norms." "Telegram abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving," the company said in a statement. "Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe." The statement comes a day after its CEO was arrested at a French airport by local authorities. Durov's arrest comes as a result of a criminal complaint focused on the platform's moderation practices, which French law enforcement deems to be insufficient. While a formal charge sheet has yet to be published by prosecutors, early media reports indicate that prosecutors are assigning culpability to Durov and Telegram for criminal acts that were organized or published on Telegram. "It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform," Telegram said in a published statement. "After news appeared in the media about the detention of P.V. Durov, we immediately requested clarification from the French authorities regarding the reasons and demanded the protection of his rights and the provision of consular access. As of today, the French side has so far avoided cooperation on this issue," the Russian embassy in France said in a statement. In its statement, Telegram linked to a March 2024 post from Durov, which predicted that the company would face some sort of challenge in its growth because of moderation practices. "All large social media apps are easy targets for criticism due to the content they host. I can’t recall any major social platform whose moderation has been consistently praised by traditional media," he wrote at the time. "The media coverage of Meta's moderation efforts has been particularly negative for most of its history. Interestingly enough, Meta was also the first social media company to have reached a trillion-dollar-plus valuation," he continued. "Telegram will likely have to go through similar growth stages before it surpasses legacy platforms." Many in the crypto community have expressed support for Durov, with Tron's Justin Sun offering to donate $1 million to a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) dedicated to working towards Durov's release if "it's created in a decentralized way with enough community support." Meanwhile, Toncoin (TON) has slowed its losses and is down 2.45% on-day, according to CoinDesk Indices data. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/26/telegram-says-it-is-compliant-with-eu-digital-services-act-after-founder-pavel-durovs-arrest/
2024-08-25 04:56
Durov's arrest stems from a warrant issued by France's OFIM, an office that works to prevent violence against minors, as part of a complaint into Telegram's lack of moderation and cooperation with law enforcement. Toncoin posted double-digit loss as French media reported that Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in the country. The arrest comes as French authorities consider Durov complicit in crimes organized via Telegram because of the platform's lack of moderation Toncoin (TON) is down over 14.5% after French media reported that Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport as part of a warrant issued by OFIM, an office of the French National Police, that's tasked with preventing violence against minors. At the time of writing, Toncoin is currently trading above $5.75, down 14.5%, according to CoinDesk Indices data. The CoinDesk 20 (CD20), a measure of the performance of the largest digital assets, is flat, up 0.79%. The warrant for his arrest stems from a criminal complaint by OFIM, an office of the French national police formed in November 2023, which considers Durov complicit because of Telegram's lack of moderation, in drug trafficking, distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and fraud due to Telegram's lack of moderation and cooperation with law enforcement, according to French network TF1. Elon Musk, issued a post on X advocating for Durov's immediate release. Telegram's PR office did not respond to a request for comment from CoinDesk. "On his platform, countless crimes and offenses were committed for which he does nothing to moderate or cooperate," TF1 quoted a law enforcement source as saying. "For years, it has become the number one platform for organized crime," another source who spoke with TF1 said. Sources that spoke with TF1 were surprised he came to France, as he knew he was a wanted man in the country. The arrest was also confirmed by the BBC and Reuters. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/25/ton-down-14-as-telegram-ceo-pavel-durov-arrested-in-france/
2024-08-23 19:53
The independent candidate is suspending his campaign for president and removing his name from the ballot in ten "battleground" states. Sluggish crypto prices were on the receiving end of two positive catalysts on Friday, first as U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell confirmed that a monetary easing cycle will begin next month, and then as crypto-friendly RFK Jr. threw his support behind the (also crypto-friendly) GOP standard-bearer Donald Trump in the presidential campaign. Already higher by about 3% on the Fed news, bitcoin (BTC) rose further following the Kennedy announcement, trading at $63,800 at press time, or up 5.6% over the past 24 hours. The broader CoinDesk 20 Index was up 4.7% over the same time frame, with ether (ETH), tezos {{XTX}} and solana (SOL) among the tokens posting 5% or more gains. Even with Kennedy exiting and endorsing Trump, the presidential race still appears to be about a 50/50 contest, but the conventional thinking at the moment suggests the removal of Kennedy from the ballot in the so-called "battleground" states will mostly benefit the GOP candidate. Both Trump and Kennedy have promised a far friendlier attitude towards bitcoin and crypto than has been exhibited by the Biden administration, with Trump suggesting the U.S. create a bitcoin strategic reserve and the promising the immediate firing of SEC chief Gary Gensler. The Harris campaign has apparently taken notice. A senior Harris adviser earlier this week said a Harris administration would be supportive of the growth of the crypto industry. https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2024/08/23/bitcoin-surges-to-nearly-64k-adding-to-gains-as-rfk-jr-endorses-trump/
2024-08-23 19:37
Robert Kennedy, a high-profile fan of digital assets, has joined forces with the Republican against Kamala Harris, giving Donald Trump an immediate bump in political prediction odds. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his presidential campaign and will pull his name from the ballots in 10 battleground states. Kennedy said he's joining the campaign and potential second administration of Trump, with whom he said he hopes to work on a number of issues that have been central to RFK Jr.'s public life. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his independent pursuit of the U.S. presidency and encouraged his supporters to instead back former President Donald Trump in battleground states, putting the weight of the Kennedy name behind the GOP candidate. Though Kennedy's family has a deep legacy as Democratic royalty, the son of 1960s politician icon Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy said he's pulling his name from ballots in 10 "battleground" states so his campaign doesn't jeopardize the chances for Trump. "I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control," RFK Jr. said Friday at a press event in Arizona. "Our polling consistently showed by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats with whom I disagree on existential issues." In a Trump win, Kennedy said he'd join the administration of the former president, who benefited from a 2% bump in Polymarket election betting as RFK Jr. spoke, climbing to a 51% chance of a win against Harris' 48%. Already higher for the session after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell Friday morning indicated interest rates are headed lower in September, bitcoin (BTC) rose further, trading at $63,700 at press time, up 5% over the past 24 hours. While RFK Jr. bears the outsized Kennedy name, he hadn't been embraced as the standard bearer by others in the Kennedy clan, many of whom endorsed President Joe Biden in April, before Biden handed the Democratic nomination baton to Vice President Kamala Harris. RFK's candidacy had widely been seen as more damaging to Trump than Harris, though it's unclear how many supporters he'll bring to bear for the Republican nominee. And from a crypto-sector perspective, RFK doesn't have to sell Trump on joining his embrace of the industry, because the former president is way ahead on that. Even as Kennedy is putting his weight behind Trump, the former president this week shifted his attention from the campaign to promote a new family business in crypto: a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform they're calling "The Defiant Ones," though further details remain scant. While Trump had long been a crypto skeptic, he began making millions on the release of branded non-fungible tokens (NFTs) after he lost the White House and has more recently come out as a digital assets booster. Kennedy's new absence on the ballot in Arizona and elsewhere generally turns the November election into a straight-up choice between the two major parties' candidates, though he said he'll remain on the ballot outside the battleground and still hopes to get votes. So far, national polling suggests Harris may be retaining a slight edge over Trump, though the advantage is slim. Meanwhile, Harris's views on crypto remain unknown. Her campaign hasn't revealed any major policy positions, though an aide this week said Harris will "support policies that ensure that emerging technologies and that sort of industry can continue to grow," and he acknowledged the industry has been asking for rules of the road. Kennedy said throwing his support to Trump was a "heart-wrenching" decision based on their alignment on several issues, including the war in Ukraine, child health issues and constraints on free speech. RFK Jr. will now join Trump's campaign. "I have the certainty that this is what I'm meant to do, and that certainty gives me internal peace," he said. https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2024/08/23/crypto-friendly-rfk-jr-drops-white-house-hunt-will-lend-kennedy-name-to-trump/
