Ether

Ether (ETH) is the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, functioning as a fuel for operations within the network. It serves multiple purposes: as a digital currency, it can be bought, sold, and held as an investment; as a utility token, it's used to pay for transaction fees and computational services on the Ethereum network. Ether is integral to running decentralized applications (dApps) and executing smart contracts on Ethereum, providing the necessary resources for these operations. As Ethereum evolves, especially with upgrades like Ethereum 2.0, Ether's role remains central, facilitating not just transactions but also the broader ecosystem of decentralized finance (DeFi) and various blockchain-based applications.


Opinion

What the Ethereum Shanghai Upgrade Will Mean for ETH Liquidity

A significant change to Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system is slated for March, which will likely incentivize a wave of building and consumer choice in the “liquid staking” sector.

(Sam Ewen/Midjourney/CoinDesk)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Seesaws Above $24.1K Following Mixed FOMC Minutes

ALSO: Shaurya Malwa considers how nefarious market participants are attempting to benefit from the ongoing ChatGPT craze in technology circles by issuing fake tokens branded after the artificial intelligence chatbot.

Financialization means big directional bets and lots of leverage, propped up by a hype campaign. In crypto, those bets are often followed by a hard landing. (Creative Commons)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Deconstructing Crypto's China Narrative

ALSO: Here's why it's important bitcoin hits $30,000

Shanghai (Getty Images)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Edges Toward $25K During Slow Economic Day

PLUS: Organizers of last year’s trucker-themed "Freedom Convoy" openly flaunted a court-ordered Mareva injunction used to freeze fundraised crypto. A Canadian judge said cryptocurrencies required more study, but declined to suggest stronger rules for the country.

(Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Opens the Week Testing $25K

ALSO: Hong Kong unveils its crypto licensing framework for Virtual Asset Service Providers in June, but the regulation will not allow retail investors to trade digital, contrary to what a recent tweet suggests. The regulation focuses on accredited, professional investors.

(Mark Dadswell/Getty Images)

Markets

Unlike Merge, Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade Could Bring Ether Price Volatility

Institutional liquidity provider OrBit Markets suggests buying an ether volatility swap to profit from an expected increase in price turbulence after the Shanghai upgrade.

Man staring out window at lightning storm (Grant Faint/Getty Images)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Crypto Momentum Falters as Bitcoin Retreats to $23.6K

ALSO: Sam Reynolds considers a rising trend of crypto startups postponing their token launches, part of the fallout from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX and its trading arm Alameda Research.

Bitcoin jumped early Tuesday before falling into the red. (Shutterstock)

Markets

Only 31% of Staked Ether May Be Profitable: Binance Research

Around 2 million ETH were staked when prices were in the range of $400 to $600. These stakers are some of the strongest Ethereum believers, according to Binance Research.

(Binance Research)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Rockets Past $24.7K to Hit 6-Month High

ALSO: Shaurya Malwa considers a 24-hour surge in trading volume for BLUR, the token of the NFT marketplace Blur, following an airdrop.

(Getty Images)

Markets

First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Holds Steady on CPI Data. Are Investors Undecided?

ALSO: Unspent transaction output, individual units of bitcoin that are locked in transactions on the blockchain, are rising. Here's why the trend is significant.

(Getty Images)