Blockchain
Breaking: Right-Wing Activists Received Large Bitcoin (BTC) Donations Before U.S. Capitol Riots
Just as the U.S. Congress lawmakers are working on impeachment proceedings on U.S. President Donald Trump, there’s a sensational revelation coming about last week’s riots that took place in the U.S. Capitol. As per an exclusive Yahoo News report, right-wing activists received payments in Bitcoin (BTC) a month before from foreign accounts. FBI’s retired assistant director
The post Breaking: Right-Wing Activists Received Large Bitcoin (BTC) Donations Before U.S. Capitol Riots appeared first on Coingape.

Just as the U.S. Congress lawmakers are working on impeachment proceedings on U.S. President Donald Trump, there’s a sensational revelation coming about last week’s riots that took place in the U.S. Capitol. As per an exclusive Yahoo News report, right-wing activists received payments in Bitcoin (BTC) a month before from foreign accounts. FBI’s retired assistant director Frank Figliuzzi himself went on sharing this report on his Twitter timeline.
Exclusive: Large bitcoin payments to right-wing activists a month before Capitol riot linked to foreign account #Insurrection #Impeachment https://t.co/FG1grDTAc6
— Frank Figliuzzi (@FrankFigliuzzi1) January 15, 2021
Nearly half-a-million-dollar ($500,000) in Bitcoin (BTC) payments were made to 22 different virtual wallets belong to far-right activists and influencers. All this has reportedly happened a month before the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Crypto researchers claim that they have identified who made the transfer and the U.S. law enforcement is currently investigating this matter.
In a blog post on Thursday, January 14, cryptocurrency compliance partner Chainalysis reported that a French Donor had sent around 28.15 BTC a month before on December 8. In its report, Chainalysis names internet personality Nick Fuentes for being instrumental in getting this money. The report states:
“We now have evidence that many alt-right groups and personalities, including Fuentes, received large Bitcoin donations in a single transaction that occurred a month before the riot on December 8. We have also gathered evidence that strongly suggests the donor was a now-deceased computer programmer based in France”.
Chainalysis also presented a detailed breakdown of who and which group received the Bitcoin donations. Fuentes reportedly received half the amount i.e. $250,000 in BTC payments.

Earlier this week during a press conference, acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said:
The “scope and scale of this investigation in these cases are really unprecedented”. He also added that prosecutors are treating it as a matter of “significant counterterrorism or counterintelligence investigation” involving deeper dives into “money, travel records, disposition, movement, communication records.”
More details regarding the same would be available hopefully in days to come as law enforcement agencies look into the matter. Maddie Kennedy, Chainalysis’s communications director said that cryptocurrencies were designed to be transparent and with the right tools they have identified the money trail. She specifically added that these donations have an “international scope” and must be investigated.
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Blockchain
PayPal in Talks To Buy Crypto Storage Startup Curv for Around $500 Million, Reports


PayPal could be in talks to buy a cryptocurrency startup focused on providing security solutions for cryptocurrency custody.
According to diferent reports, PayPal is interested in acquiring Curv, and the talks between the two companies’ teams are an open secret in the global tech scene – though perhaps no longer a secret considering how quickly it is spreading despite the cautious stance taken by both companies.
Local sources argue that the cost of the deal would be in the range of $500 million. This amount would exceed the expectations of Curv’s development team, which hoped to rake in between $200 million and $300 million from the company’s sale.
What is Curv and Why Does it Matter?
Curv has developed an encryption technology based on multi-party computation that secures digital assets and enables the secure transfer Store and any digital asset management on any blockchain. Its platform makes it possible for a Wallet to generate private keys at different points simultaneously, distributing them between the cloud and the client, eliminating possibilities of single points of failure.
Considering the services Curv provides, it stands to reason that an acquisition would be beneficial to PayPal. It would allow it to evolve and likely increase security and user confidence in its crypto services.
It could even allow PayPal to have a native cryptocurrency custody solution, reducing costs in the long run.
So far, no company has given public statements acknowledging or rejecting the news.
Paypal’s Interest in Crypto Grows Every day
PayPal’s interest in cryptocurrencies has only grown as institutional investment, regulatory clarity, and, of course, the price of digital assets increase.
Months after the March 2020 crash, PayPal announced a partnership with Paxos to provide its customers with exposure to the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin.
The idea was to enable some cryptocurrency operations in a secure, easy, and legal way. The initiative was a massive success for PayPal, and the price of Bitcoin rose to new all-time highs. A study conducted by Mizuho Securities found that by the en of 2020, one fifth of all PayPal users had some exposure to Bitcoin and 65% of PayPal users were interested in crypto.
Bitcoin ripping in part because PayPal and Square are buying loads of it to facilitate customer trading.
Analyst jacks $PYPL stock-price target 35% above current quote based on Bitcoin excitement.
Quit waiting for the fun part to start folks, you’re in it… pic.twitter.com/mGRpDvApsZ
— Michael Santoli (@michaelsantoli) December 1, 2020
Dan Schulman, CEO of Paypal said on an official press release, that the use of digital currencies was inevitable, and governments need to hit the gas pedal and adapt their policies to the innovations of the modern era:
“The shift to digital forms of currencies is inevitable, bringing with it clear advantages in terms of financial inclusion and access; efficiency, speed and resilience of the payments system; and the ability for governments to disburse funds to citizens quickly”
Subsequently, reports leaked that PayPal was attempting to acquire BitGo; however, the talks never came to fruition.
If PayPal buys Curv, the quality of cryptocurrency-related services could increase considerably, not only helping to appreciate the value of the company’s stock but proving the validity of PayPal’s strategy of investing in cryptocurrency goods and services rather than buying cryptocurrencies for speculation or storing value.
PrimeXBT Special Offer: Use this link to register & enter CRYPTOPOTATO35 code to get 35% free bonus on any deposit up to 1 BTC.
Source: https://cryptopotato.com/paypal-to-buy-crypto-storage-startup-curv/
Blockchain
Polygon-based QuickSwap’s TVL grows by $75M in two weeks


Polygon-based DEX QuickSwap hasattracted more than $105 million in worth of liquidity since the start of 2021.
The Uniswap clone began the year with only $300,000 worth of assets locked in its protocol, with more than three quarters of the exchange’s total value locked being added in the past fortnight.
QuickSwap is currently the leading second-layer decentralized exchange by daily volume with $38.5 million worth of trades over the past 24 hours. The second-largest L2 DEX by volume is Loopring with $8.4 million, followed by ZKSwap with $2.5 million.
L2 DEX trading volume in the last 24hrs:
1 @QuickswapDEX $38,503,800 (>30% own token❗)
2 @loopringorg $8,429,098
3 @ZKSwapOfficial $2,530,652 (>50% own token❗)
4 @Leverj_io $1,339,688
5 @nashsocial $913,475
6 @deversifi $805,710
Powered by @coingecko API— L2_Dex_Wars (@L2Wars) March 2, 2021
QuickSwap’s governance token, QUICK, surged from under $1 per token to $557 in three months, and currently represents nearly 20% of the protocol’s total liquidity. Other popular tokens on the exchange include Wrapped Ether, USD Coin, maUSDC, and Wrapped Matic.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, QuickSwap founder Nick Mudge attributed the exchange’s recent success to the user’s that Aavegotchi brought to Polygon after launching its NFT staking game on Jan. 21.
With more than 80 tokens driving more than $23 million in daily trade volume, Mudge believes QuickSwap is a cornerstone of Polygon’s nascent DeFi ecosystem, predicting the two will grow symbiotically:
“QuickSwap is the center of the Polygon DeFi ecosystem and will grow as the ecosystem grows. QuickSwap and its liquidity mining incentives were a solution to move the users to Polygon and give them a Uniswap experience with very low gas fees.”
Polygon, a scaling solution allowing projects to create Ethereum-compatible blockchains, has benefited from the crippling gas fees that have recently made many Ethereum-powered DeFi protocols too expensive for casual users.
MATIC, the native crypto of Polygon, has posted meteoric gains this year, rising 1,135% from $0.0182 to $0.2249 over 2021 so far.
Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/polygon-based-quickswap-s-tvl-grows-by-75m-in-two-weeks
Blockchain
TA: Bitcoin Turns Attractive Above $50K, Why BTC Could Rally To $55K

Bitcoin price extended its rise and cleared the $50,000 resistance against the US Dollar. BTC is now consolidating gains and it is likely to climb further above $52,000.
- Bitcoin is trading in a positive zone above the $50,000 and $50,500 support levels.
- The price is now trading well above $51,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
- There is a major bullish trend line forming with support near $49,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
- The pair could extend its rally once it clears $52,000 and $52,500 in the near term.
Bitcoin Price is Gaining Momentum
After a close above the $48,000 resistance, bitcoin was able to gain strength above the main $50,000 resistance. BTC even cleared the $51,500 level and spiked above the $52,000 level.
It traded to a new monthly high near $52,650 and settled well above the 100 hourly simple moving average. It is now trading in a positive zone above the $50,000 and $50,500 support levels. There was a minor correction recently below the $51,000 level.
The price traded below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $47,102 swing low to $52,648 high. However, the bulls were active near the $50,000 and $49,500 levels.
Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
There is also a major bullish trend line forming with support near $49,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Bitcoin also remained well above the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $47,102 swing low to $52,648 high.
It is now trading above $51,000 and testing a connecting bearish trend line at $51,500. A clear break above the trend line resistance could open the doors for a move towards the $52,500 and $53,200 levels. The next key resistance sits near the $55,000 level.
Fresh Dip in BTC?
If bitcoin fails to continue higher above the $52,000 and $52,500 resistance levels, there could be a minor decline. The first key support on the downside is near the $50,500 level.
The next major support is near the $50,000 level and the trend line. If there is a downside break below the trend line support, the price could test the $48,000 support and the 100 hourly SMA.
Technical indicators:
Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining momentum in the bullish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is now well above the 50 level.
Major Support Levels – $50,500, followed by $50,000.
Major Resistance Levels – $51,500, $52,000 and $53,200.
Source: https://www.newsbtc.com/analysis/btc/bitcoin-btc-could-rally-55k/
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