ALTCOIN JOURNAL

Halloween-inspired NFTs are gaining popularity this year, but will the trend continue over time and will they prove to be great investments? Halloween is traditionally known for costumes, candy and trick or treating, but this year, the holiday is transitioning to the virtual world as the metaverse unfolds. As such, nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, are being created to showcase Halloween themes in hopes of attracting collectors looking for themed drops.  Although Halloween-inspired NFTs appear to be a new concept, NFT artist Etsploit told Coin-telegraph that Halloween holds a certain cultural importance that can't be dismissed: “I think people will collect NFTs for Halloween similar to that of NFT limited editions or releases of anything else.” Given this sentiment, Etsploit launched the “Mango Heroes” project, which is a series of NFTs built on the Solana blockchain and inspired by the decentralized trading platform Mango Markets. Etsploit noted that 7,000 “Mango Heroes” will be availa...

Most of us now know how to use NFTs. We hop on over to our favorite platform, do a bit of research and buy or sell our NFTs relatively easily. The whole process has become quite user-friendly, making  it a cinch for almost anyone to get involved in NFT investment and creation. Just like with a car, we don’t necessarily need to understand how NFTs work to be able to use them. But, also like a car, a basic understanding of the technology involved can help get the most out of NFTs, resolve problems, and can be used to predict where the technology is heading. Here, we’ll answer the question, “How do NFTs work?” by looking at the Ethereum blockchain, smart contracts, and the origins of NFTs. First things first, it’s important to understand a little more about Ethereum. Ethereum is still by far the most dominant blockchain of choice for NFTs. While Bitcoin is busy trying to become Gold 2.0 and a viable alternative to fiat currency, Ethereum is positioning itself as the next stage of the ...

Elon Musk has revealed the real reason he supports the meme cryptocurrency dogecoin. He shared that a lot of people he talks to at his companies, Tesla and Space X, own dogecoin, noting that it felt like the people’s crypto there. Lots of People Elon Musk Talks to at Space X and Tesla Own Dogecoin   Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk revealed Sunday the real reason he began supporting dogecoin. He noted that many people he talks to at both companies own the meme cryptocurrency. Responding to a tweet by dogecoin holder Glauber Contessoto, who said the appeal for DOGE is real, referencing a survey that found about a third of U.S. crypto holders own the meme cryptocurrency, Musk wrote: Lots of people I talked to on the production lines at Tesla or building rockets at Space X own Doge. They aren’t financial experts or Silicon Valley technologists. That’s why I decided to support Doge — it felt like the people’s crypto. The Doge community welcomes Musk’s comment and support. “Most of us do...

On October 22 at 4:52 p.m. (EDT), a miner that acquired 50 bitcoin on May 17, 2010, spent the funds that sat idle for 11 years and five months. There hasn’t been a 2010 block reward spent in three months and the last time a 2010 miner spent their ‘sleeping bitcoin’ was on July 4, 2021. After waiting patiently for more than a decade, the miner who spent the ‘sleeping bitcoin’ on Friday saw a percentage gain of 76,249,900% if the individual cashed out into U.S. dollars today. Editor’s Note: Another block reward from 2010 that was created on July 18, with 50 ‘sleeping bitcoin’ was transferred on October 25, 2021, the day this post was published. The 2010 block reward was transferred at block height 706,461 and at today’s exchange rate it was worth just over $3 million. (Updated at 11:25 a.m. EDT on 10-25-21). Old School Miner Spends 2010 Block Reward After Bitcoins Sat for More Than a Decade It’s been a while since a block reward of 2010 ‘sleeping bitcoins’ have been spent and on Friday, ...

KEY POINTS Tech Billionaire, Sam Altman’s new start-up Worldcoin uses orb-shaped devices to scan people’s eyes in exchange for free cryptocurrency. The company has amassed over 100,000 users globally so far, and aims to hit the 1 billion user milestone by 2023. CEO Alex Blania hinted Worldcoin could be used as “infrastructure” for a universal basic income one day.               It sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie — metallic orbs that scan people’s eyes to pay them in digital currency. That’s what tech investor Sam Altman has been working on for his new start-up, a company called Worldcoin. Launched out of “stealth” on Thursday, Worldcoin promises to hand out free cryptocurrency to people who verify their accounts by taking an iris scan. Worldcoin says it’s already attracted $25 million in funding from Silicon Valley investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase and billionaire LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, giving the firm a...

  The first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) launched in the United States and smashed records on Tuesday, capturing close to $1 billion in total volume. Eric Balchunas, the senior ETF analyst for Bloomberg said that the Pro-shares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) definitely “defied expectations.” Pro-shares Bitcoin ETF Commands Serious Volume.    Pro-shares bitcoin strategy exchange fund (BITO) did well on its first day as it closed the day at 4:00 p.m. (EDT)  at $41.94 per unit. Meanwhile, the price of bitcoin (BTC) soared on Tuesday, tapping a high of $64,367 on the crypto exchange Bit stamp fifteen minutes after the closing bell on Wall Street. Pro-shares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) chart for October 19, 2021, the ETF’s first day of trading. As the ETF shares swapped hands on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), BITO reached a daily high of over $42. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart tweeted at the end of the day: “Looks like the final tally is gonna be r...

  On Wednesday, the global developer utilizing popular brands, gamification, A.I., blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and mobile technology, Animoca Brands announced the company has closed a capital raise for $65 million. Animoca Brands now has an overall valuation of $2.2 billion after raising funds from firms like Liberty City Ventures, Ubisoft Entertainment, Sequoia China, and Dragonfly Capital.  Animoca Brands Raises $65 Million In July, Animoca Brands announced the company raised $138.88 million in order to deliver digital property rights via non-fungible token (NFT) technology. The company Animoca Brands was co-founded by Yat Siu in January 2014 and in recent times the company has been focused on blockchain gaming and NFTs. Animoca Brands has backed Sky Mavis the creators of Axie Infinity and the leading NFT marketplace in terms of trade volume Opensea.  Animoca Brands game The Sandbox. “Animoca Brands is bringing digital property rights to online users, primar...