The biggest crypto news and ideas of the day |
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The launch of spot ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., expected to occur next week, will push the price of the second largest cryptocurrency to all-time highs above $5,000, Bitwise said. It may not happen immediately and price action may be choppy to start, due to money flowing out of the $11 billion Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), after it converts to an ETF, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan wrote in a report on Tuesday. Still, “by year-end, I'm confident the new highs will be in,” Hougan wrote, “and if flows are stronger than many market commentators expect, the price could be much higher still.” |
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Core Scientific (CORZ) is a future leader in hosting high-performance computing (HPC) due to the lucrative deals it has inked with CoreWeave and management’s solid experience in operating enterprise data centers, broker B Riley said in a research report on Tuesday. The broker upgraded the Dover, Delaware-based company to buy from neutral and raised its price target on the shares to $13 from $0.50. The shares were trading 1.5% lower at $11.53 at publication time. B Riley said it was updating its estimates for Core Scientific to reflect the CoreWeave deal and potential future HPC agreements. It said it valued the already announced agreements, excluding the Austin contract, at $2.3 billion in total for the committed 270 megawatts (MW). This does not include possible extension options for both contracts. |
Mooch: Dems Make 'Horrific Mistake' |
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Anthony Scaramucci, Donald Trump’s former director of communications, might just turn out to be his most vocal critic. The Skybridge Capital founder and CEO, who held his position under the former president in 2017 for less than a week, will not be voting for the Republican presidential nominee this November, even though they agree on at least one political issue: the need to enact clear crypto legislation. The Democrats' failure to do so is damaging them, said Scaramucci, who nevertheless continues to support the party.
“The Democrats have made a horrific mistake,” he said in an interview with CoinDesk’s Jennifer Sanasie. “They could have been neutral on crypto or positive on crypto. And I think it would have helped them in the election.” |
Trump Buoys Bitcoin Bulls |
Bitcoin (BTC) traders expect prices to touch as much as $70,000 in the near term as sentiment around the broader crypto sector bumps ahead of the U.S. elections and selling pressure from key wallets subsides. “The rebound in Bitcoin price shows the market has a more optimistic outlook in the near-term macro environment,” shared Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, in a Wednesday message to CoinDesk. “The market was encouraged by Trump’s vice president pick, which indicates a more crypto-friendly administration and policies.” “BTC could hover around the 120-day moving average, and the price may have the momentum to go up to $68k or even $70k, but we need to continue to monitor closely the Fed policies and implications of Mt Gox,” Hu added. |
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The Takeaway: How to Build a Blockchain |
Guest post by CoinDesk Columnist Azeem Khan: Each month, it seems, a new blockchain is announced. They come in various forms — L1s, L2s, L3s, Parallel EVMs, and so on. But, at their core, they are all about creating new infrastructure rails for developers to build the app that will finally drive real adoption. Each announcement is often accompanied by a fundraising buzz, with excitement around this latest technical advancement being the key to the future. Yet, the truth is, no one knows which of these ecosystems will ultimately succeed. So, what does it actually take to build a successful ecosystem? If you reverse-engineer one, you’ll find that the concept is quite simple, though perhaps not as easy to implement, as evidenced by massive chains with only 20 daily active users despite their billion-dollar valuations and treasuries.
If you find yourself in a position where you need to build an ecosystem from scratch, it's crucial to understand the essential components. The first necessity is users and liquidity on the chain itself. Without these, there’s no incentive for software developers, or builders, to create products on the infrastructure you’re providing. When a chain with too little liquidity remains online but lacks builders, it becomes what people refer to as a “ghost chain.” Typically, these chains have tokens used purely for speculation or sit in a sort of purgatory with no trading volume, eventually fading into obscurity. If you didn’t already catch it, this is bad.
Attracting these initial users and liquidity is often the biggest challenge that new chains face. Typically, we see massive initial incentive systems designed to lock liquidity on the chain when it goes to mainnet. The problem with these approaches is that they’re not sustainable and often lead to the "ponzinomics" we see in many projects. The most effective strategy to overcome this hurdle is partnering with a centralized exchange, as Base has done, or with a decentralized wallet, similar to Linea’s approach, to attract initial users. While not entirely foolproof, having distribution built into your launch is one of the most crucial factors in generating initial activity. At no point did I say this was easy, but if you think about it, it makes sense. Read the rest here. |
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