This Week in Crypto Games provides a roundup of the latest news in the crypto and NFT gaming space, including the launch of a GameStop-inspired meme coin, the development of Pixelmon's gaming ecosystem, and the early access launch of the Shrapnel extraction shooter.
Shiba Inu is currently trading at a very low price, making it an affordable opportunity for investors to accumulate SHIB tokens, with the potential for significant returns if the price reaches $0.01 in the future.
Crypto analyst Justin Bennett suggests that based on the Tether dominance chart, Bitcoin may experience another decline and retest the mid $44,000 level, indicating that the market bottom may not have been reached yet.
The Solana Hunger Games is a unique gaming concept that combines augmented reality with cryptocurrency, capturing the attention and enthusiasm of the gaming and crypto communities as it approaches its official launch.
Chainlink (LINK) tokens have recently seen increased activity, with concerns raised about its stability and future price. 19 million LINK tokens, valued at $341 million, were unlocked and transferred to Binance and a multi-sig wallet, while the token's value has seen a modest gain of 0.83% in the last 24 hours. However, analysts warn of potential volatility due to speculation and fear of missing out.
The evaluation process of new spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is crucial for platforms like LPL Financial, as they need to ensure these funds are durable and have a good investment thesis before making them available to their clients. There is concern about the potential closure of ETFs that don't accumulate enough assets, which can be a negative experience for investors and costly for firms like LPL. The success of these new funds will depend on factors such as asset size, trading performance, and market reception.
Underrated cryptos, such as DeFiChain (DFI-USD), IQ Token (IQ-USD), and Cardano (ADA-USD), offer potential investment opportunities due to their unique features and low valuations.
The Biden administration has issued an "emergency collection of data request" to bitcoin miners, raising concerns of a potential crackdown on the industry as the bitcoin price surges and the U.S. dollar weakens.
XRP investors are hopeful that 2024 will be the year of a major turnaround for the cryptocurrency, citing three potential catalysts: a settlement with the SEC, the launch of a spot ETF, and an IPO for Ripple, although the likelihood of these events is questionable, making XRP a high-risk investment.
Crypto analyst The Flow Horse suggests that Fetch.ai (FET) is poised for an upward move, based on increasing open interest and trading volume, while also expressing bullish sentiment towards Bitcoin's upcoming halving event, Chainlink's uptrend, and the Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter.
Avalanche (AVAX) plans to launch Vryx, a scaling solution that will significantly increase transaction speeds, while Manta continues to experience impressive market growth and NuggetRush (NUGX) challenges the traditional play-to-earn model in the gaming industry.
Crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa believes that the Solana-based decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter (JUP) and the privacy-focused crypto project Manta Network (MANTA) have potential for upside growth, while the decentralized oracle network Chainlink (LINK) looks bullish if it breaks its immediate resistance level.
Arkansas has become the first state to protect noisy Bitcoin mining operations from complaints by neighbors, leading to backlash and calls for a statewide ban.
Bitcoin is predicted to reach $100,000 by 2025 due to its decentralized nature, limited supply, approval from the SEC, and the upcoming halving event.
The InvestAnswers host predicts that the decentralized exchange aggregator Jupiter (JUP) on the Solana network could see a significant increase in value due to strong network activity and its ability to address pain points associated with decentralized exchanges.
A cryptocurrency YouTuber, Ben Armstrong, also known as BitBoy, has seen his empire collapse, lost his production company, friends, and his wife after being accused of extortion, theft, sexual harassment, and workplace violence, all stemming from his involvement with cryptocurrency.
Users of Coinbase can now buy, sell, and hold the ZetaChain (ZETA) token, a layer-1 blockchain and smart contract platform that aims to establish a new standard for blockchain interoperability.
Shrapnel, a highly-anticipated first-person shooter game built around NFTs and a crypto token on Avalanche, has launched early access on the Epic Games Store for players who have purchased one of the game's Extraction Pack access keys, with $100,000 worth of SHRAP tokens available as prizes during the initial sessions.
Hawaii has shifted its regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies and will no longer require digital currency companies to obtain a state-issued money transmitter license, allowing them to operate without strict regulation within the state.
Genesis has agreed to pay a $21 million civil fine to settle with the SEC over its now-defunct Gemini Earn program, allowing the company to focus on repaying customers and creditors; the settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing.
Apple's upcoming Vision Pro spatial computing platform, which incorporates virtual reality and augmented reality features, will be utilized in the development of Victoria VR, a blockchain-based MMORPG that aims to create an alternate reality and reward active user participation within the metaverse through tokenomics. However, the success of the game's launch and its integration with crypto remains uncertain due to Apple's historical skepticism and restrictions towards crypto apps.
The SEC has announced that a crypto entrepreneur, Brian Sewell, has settled fraud charges for promoting an online course called "American Bitcoin Academy" and deceiving students into investing in a fraudulent AI-powered crypto hedge fund that never launched and resulted in the loss of $1.2 million in Bitcoin due to a hack.
Ethereum's value could potentially increase by more than 70% due to the upcoming Dencun upgrade, the possibility of Ethereum spot ETFs, and the rotation of Bitcoin profits into ETH after its halving event, according to cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe.
Bitcoin is expected to consolidate while altcoins like Chainlink and Polkadot are projected to gain momentum, according to crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe, who sees potential in projects that bring value to the blockchain ecosystem.
The U.S. Department of Energy is conducting a survey to examine the electricity consumption of selected Bitcoin miners, leading to concerns that the collected data may be used to inform harmful policies towards the mining industry.
Sensitive material, including code and internal passwords, belonging to cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was leaked on GitHub for several months, posing a risk to the security of the exchange and its users.
A new Bitcoin price model called the "Bitcoin Power Law" claims to accurately predict the cryptocurrency's long-term price using math and science, with projections suggesting a peak price of $210,000 in January 2026 and a bottom price of $60,000 later that year, while also forecasting a price of $1 million by 2033, although the model's accuracy is not guaranteed.
An associate of Ontario’s "crypto king" has been sentenced to five months in jail for refusing to surrender an iPhone to investigators and destroying data, following allegations of operating a Ponzi scheme.
Bitcoin (BTC) price may surpass the $43,750 barrier, Ethereum (ETH) price is at risk of a 5% drop, and Ripple (XRP) price could fall 7% to October lows as it consolidates in a bearish technical formation.
The US government is tracking the energy implications of the booming bitcoin mining industry, which is estimated to consume over 2 percent of the country's electricity and has led to the addition of another state's worth of electricity demand to the grid in the last three years.
The GameStop-inspired meme coin, GME, has plunged over 52% in value within a day of reaching an all-time high, highlighting the volatile nature of meme coins which are often created for speculative purposes.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance has increased its spending on compliance, investing in new software systems and personnel costs, as the company focuses on building a strong compliance culture after previous regulatory issues and settlements with US authorities, including fines and penalties. The company is also expected to accept a court-appointed monitor to ensure compliance with imposed terms. Despite these challenges, Binance has seen a rebound in funds and total assets on the platform.
Former President Donald Trump is skeptical about the security of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and plans to block its creation despite owning $3 million in cryptocurrency and promoting NFT trading cards.
Despite the shutdown of crypto bankruptcy claims platform OPNX, many of its traders are refusing to sell their tokens, expressing adoration for the token and doubting the chances of failure.
Focusing on blockchain technology and startups building in the industry is the key to cutting through the noise and realizing the productive side of blockchains, according to venture capital veteran Chris Dixon.
The Solana blockchain has experienced significant growth, with active addresses reaching an all-time high in January, driven by events such as the Jito airdrop and increased interest in decentralized exchanges and meme coins. The Jupiter Exchange airdrop is generating excitement, with more airdrops expected in the future to attract new users and foster community engagement.
Crypto-meets-virtual reality developer Victoria VR is set to release the first metaverse app from a blockchain-related company on Apple's Vision Pro headset, featuring ultra-realistic graphics and immersive gameplay in a digital environment powered by its VR token, which has surged in value by nearly 60% in the last 24 hours.
Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management predicts that bitcoin prices could reach $2.3 million with an optimal allocation to the cryptocurrency from a $250 trillion global investable asset base.
Three individuals have been indicted for an identity theft conspiracy, including the $400 million hack from FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange, on the same day it filed for bankruptcy, with the scheme involving SIM-card swapping, creation of fake identification documents, and accessing victims' online accounts to steal money and data, according to court records.
Bitcoin and Ethereum have seen slight gains of about 2% and 1% respectively, while the US job report has influenced expectations of a rate cut, with 56% of investors now anticipating a cut in May rather than March; additionally, Bitcoin ETFs have reached a market capitalization of nearly $30 billion. On another note, PYTH token, the native token of the Pyth Network for price oracles, has surged 16% after being listed on Binance.
Valkyrie, a provider of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., has partnered with BitGo as a second custodian, becoming the first ETF provider to diversify its cryptocurrency custody.
Belarusian and Cypriot national Aliaksandr Klimenka has been indicted in the U.S. for operating a digital currency exchange that facilitated transactions linked to various cybercrimes, including ransomware and identity theft, with a possible maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Aevo, a decentralized perpetual futures and options exchange, is conducting an airdrop and farming program to reward early adopters with its upcoming token AEVO, where users can earn additional tokens based on their platform usage in terms of volume, fees, and loyalty.
Classic games like Pac-Man and Tetris can now be played on Bitcoin and Dogecoin blockchains through the use of NFT-like protocols, allowing for the inscription of media and playable video games directly on the blockchain itself.
A research report by ARK Invest suggests that Bitcoin's value could reach $2.3 million, based on a 19.4% allocation from the global investable asset base, due to its increasing appeal among institutional and high-net-worth investors, as well as its disruption of the traditional financial ecosystem.
Perpetual swaps exchange Avantis has launched on Base mainnet, with a unique approach of offering a guaranteed rebate to traders who take contrarian positions, aiming to appeal to retail traders and balance the market.
The Ronin (RON) price has surged in recent months, reaching its highest price in over two years, and is approaching the all-time high of $3.50, although a potential decrease could trigger a 30% drop to $2.30.
The US labor market added a higher-than-expected 353,000 jobs in January, causing the unemployment rate to remain steady at 3.7% and leading to a slight drop in the price of Bitcoin.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs have made their debut on Wall Street, transforming the cryptocurrency industry and leading to debates about whether Bitcoin is still considered crypto.
Bitcoin's Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) indicator suggests that now might be an opportune moment to buy BTC, while Dogecoin's remarkable surge in growth in new addresses reflects positively on DOGE prices.