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Bitcoin-focused NiceHashX Conference Happening This Week

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2 months ago

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Bitcoin has teased the prospect of a fresh all-time high in recent weeks, and now the world’s best-loved cryptocurrency is in the spotlight once again. This time it’s the subject of a two-day conference organized by leading hashrate marketplace NiceHash, set to get underway in Slovenia’s charming city of Maribor on November 8.

The event, NiceHashX, was put together to commemorate both the platform’s 10th anniversary and Slovenia’s emergence as a European crypto powerhouse. And the timing couldn’t be more significant: the conference coincides with expected heightened market activity following the U.S. presidential election three days earlier. 

Sunny Side of the Alps

In recent years Slovenia has established itself as a European blockchain hub. In fact, it’s second only to Switzerland – home to the so-called Crypto Valley in Zug – in terms of web3 startups. With NiceHash leading the charge from its Maribor offices, the Central European country has witnessed remarkable adoption rates and projections suggest a fifth of the population will be using digital assets by 2028.

It’s perhaps unsurprising, then, that Maribor has been chosen as the venue for NiceHashX. Not only is the quaint city home to the hashrate marketplace, but it provides a picturesque backdrop in the form of the Pohorje Mountains.

Christened the ‘Bitcoin Conference on the Sunny Side of the Alps,’ NiceHashX will feature numerous high-profile speakers including BTC maximalist Saifedean Ammous, bestselling author of The Bitcoin Standard, BTC Prague conference CEO Martin Kuchař, and Bitcoin FilmFest Co-founder Pierre Corbinand. In addition to an expo area, there will be three main stages, numerous side events, and an official after-party with a VIP dinner and music show. 

“We are delighted to welcome the world to discover how Slovenia is leading the way in European Bitcoin adoption,” says NiceHash CEO Vladimir Hozjan. “With 10 years of experience in this industry, we have witnessed phenomenal growth in the interest of using Bitcoin, here in Maribor and around the country. Join us as we celebrate, and witness Bitcoin in its purest form, used by everyday people, alongside some of the brightest speakers in the industry.”

Interestingly, NiceHash has developed a BTC payment solution that will be showcased at the event as well as in the city, an innovation that underscores its commitment to promoting adoption. Ticket prices range from just €21 to €2,100 for the bells-and-whistles VIP package.

NiceHash is a perfect example of Slovenia’s crypto-friendly status. From its humble beginnings as a project by two enterprising university students, the platform, which pairs buyers and sellers of hashpower, has grown to serve over 2.5 million users – including 250,000 daily active miners. Earlier this year, it made waves by launching the world’s first fully automated Lightning Network payouts for the latter cohort. Over 1,000 Slovenian businesses already accept BTC as payment.

Candidates Covet Crypto Vote

In recent months, the U.S. presidential race has brought crypto policy into sharp focus. Both Trump and Harris have made overtures to the Bitcoin community, marking a notable shift in mainstream political discourse around digital assets.

Donald Trump’s appearance at this year’s Bitcoin Conference included bold promises to make the United States the “crypto capital of the planet and the Bitcoin superpower of the world.” While her rhetoric has been less overt, Democrat hopeful Kamala Harris has pledged support for cryptocurrency regulation.

Whoever wins the race for the White House, NiceHashX promises to be a lovefest for members of the Bitcoin community, from developers and entrepreneurs to freedom-loving citizens only too happy to exit fiat in favor of ‘digital gold.’

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Coingape Staff

CoinGape comprises an experienced team of native content writers and editors working round the clock to cover news globally and present news as a fact rather than an opinion. CoinGape writers and reporters contributed to this article.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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Elon Musk xAI Secures $6B To Boost Generative AI Expansion: Details

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21 minutes ago

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December 24, 2024

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Elon Musk xAI has raised $6 billion in its latest funding round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This round adds to the $6 billion raised earlier this year, bringing the company’s total funding to $12 billion. The capital injection positions xAI to expand its generative AI initiatives and enhance its competitive edge.

Elon Musk xAI Achieves $12B Total Funding After Latest $6B Round

According to a recent report, Elon Musk xAI has successfully secured $6 billion from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, BlackRock, Fidelity, Nvidia, and others. This latest funding round exclusively involved previous investors, many of whom had supported Musk’s acquisition of X (formerly Twitter).

The funds bring xAI total capital raised to $12 billion. The company plans to use this funding to accelerate the development of its generative AI model, Grok, and expand its ecosystem. This substantial financial backing positions the firm to compete with industry leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic.

Moreover, the Grok AI model, developed by xAI, powers a range of features on X, including a chatbot available to premium and free users in select regions. Known for its functionality, Grok can generate images through the Flux generator, analyze visuals, and summarize trending news.

In October, xAI launched an API allowing developers to integrate Grok into third-party apps and platforms. The company also introduced a standalone iOS app for testing, further extending its generative Artificial Intelligence capabilities.

Memphis Data Center and Infrastructure Upgrades

To support its ambitious goals, Elon Musk xAI operates a Memphis data center equipped with 100,000 Nvidia GPUs. The facility, constructed in just 122 days, currently relies partly on diesel generators. According to the blog post, the company has plans to double the center’s capacity in 2025, securing approval for additional power.

The upgraded infrastructure will also benefit Tesla, with plans to integrate xAI’s developments into autonomous driving technologies. This expansion reflects Elon Musk’s vision to enhance AI applications across industries.

While Elon Musk’s xAI has made rapid advancements, it continues to face fierce competition. Rivals such as Anthropic and OpenAI have also secured billions in funding.

Following the growing competition, earlier this month, the Tesla CEO filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing them of anti-competitive practices. The lawsuit alleges that OpenAI coerced investors to avoid supporting rivals like Musk’s xAI. Musk’s legal team claims that Microsoft’s $13 billion investment in OpenAI led to conflicts of interest and market manipulation

In addition, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the need for stricter oversight to prevent nonprofit entities from exploiting their status for financial gain. Joining Elon Musk, Zuckerberg called for a formal investigation into OpenAI’s transition, highlighting potential misuse of tax-exempt donations and resources.

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Ronny Mugendi

Ronny Mugendi is a seasoned crypto journalist with four years of professional experience, having contributed significantly to various media outlets on cryptocurrency trends and technologies. With over 4000 published articles across various media outlets, he aims to inform, educate and introduce more people to the Blockchain and DeFi world. Outside of his journalism career, Ronny enjoys the thrill of bike riding, exploring new trails and landscapes.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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Moonpay In Talks To Acquire Coinbase Commerce Rival Helio

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3 hours ago

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December 23, 2024

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Multinational financial technology firm Moonpay is reportedly in talks to buy Helio as it looks to bolster its crypto service offerings. According to a scoop shared by Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the Helio deal is worth about $150 million. If successful, this will mark the largest acquisition made by the Miami-based firm since its inception.

Moonpay and Helio as the Power Duo

While much detail has not emerged regarding the terms of the deal, many in the ecosystem are already weighing the potential. Notably, Helio will enable Moonpay to compete directly with Coinbase Commerce as a self-service crypto payments outfit.

Helio enables content creators and ecommerce merchants to get paid for their products and services using crypto. Among the available products includes Solana Pay, the payments engine powering the DexScreener platform. As Terrett highlighted, the Solana Pay outfit is also integrated into Shopify.

Moonpay occupies a unique role in the crypto ecosystem. It currently powers a lot of crypto payments services with an extensive partnerships record. As reported by Coingape in October, it landed a Venmo partnership to enable crypto access to 60 million users worldwide.

With crypto adoption growing, the need for more merchant integrations have grown considerably. Moonpay is among the infrastructure firms benefitting from these growth and Helio might help amplify this.

Growing Corporate Investments in Crypto

Since the victory of Donald Trump as president-elect last month, the corporate alignment has increased. Suddenly, companies are beginning to revamp their investment strategies in a bid to benefit from the potential incoming pro-crypto administration.

From Justin Sun investing $30 million into World Liberty Financial to Tether’s latest $775 million investment in Rumble, firms are largely diversifying their portfolios.

While M&A activities beyond the potential Moonpay deal might appear too formal, the presence of Bitcoin and Ethereum-based ETF products is removing entry barriers for firms.

BlackRock invests in IBIT, setting a precedent for state pension funds to also join the trend. Asset management firms are doubling down on other crypto ETF products to grant firms more access to gain exposure to the crypto industry.

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Godfrey Benjamin

Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.

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Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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5 Tokens Ready For A 20X After Solana ETF Approval

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7 hours ago

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December 23, 2024

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) looks likely to approve a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) under Donald Trump’s administration. With this Solana ETF approval looking imminent, there are tokens that are ready to enjoy a 5x price increase once this happens.

5 Tokens That Could 20x After A Solana ETF

Bloomberg analysts recently suggested that a Solana ETF could launch at some point next year, although the exact timing remains uncertain due to some complex legal issues. Ahead of this potential launch, these are 5 tokens that could witness a significant price increase after the SEC approves a Solana ETF.

Jupiter (JUP)

Jupiter (JUP) is one of the tokens that is ready for a 20x price increase after a Solana ETF approval. The JUP price is in a good position to benefit from such bullish development, considering its status as one of the top Solana coins.

As such, the DeFi token will likely witness a parabolic surge on the back of an ETF approval. Crypto analyst Altcoin Scholar predicted that JUP could rally to $10 or higher in this bull run.

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NebulaStride Token (NST)

NebulaStride Token (NST) is in a good position to witness a significant price increase after a Solana ETF approval. This ETF approval provides a bullish outlook for the crypto and NST, as a newer token, could enjoy one of the most gains.

As a newer token, NST could even record more than a 20x price increase since it has more room to run to the upside than these older coins. the token’s fundamentals also provides a bullish outlook for its as NebulaStride is revolutionizing the finance space.

Render (RENDER)

Render (RENDER) is another top Solana coin that is ready for a 20x price increase after a SOL ETF approval. The token already boasts a bullish outlook based on its ties to the artificial intelligence (AI) narrative.

ImageImage

Meanwhile, from a technical analysis perspective, crypto analysts have suggested that RENDER is well primed for a parabolic surge. In an X post, crypto analyst Exotrader predicted that the AI coin couuld rally to as high as $24 as long as it holds the $6.9 support level on the weekly close.

Bonk (BONK)

Bonk (BONK) has become more than just a meme coin in the Solana ecosystem. The top meme coin has gained several use cases and even boasts an exchange-traded product (ETP).

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning the upcoming BONK token burn with 1 trillions coins set to be burnt. With this 1 trillion token burn on the horizon, the meme coin eyes a $0.11 price target.

XRP

XRP looks like an obvious play if the SEC were to approve a Solana ETF, especially if this approval comes before the one for an XRP ETF. In a scanario where a SOL ETF gets approved an XRP ETF, XRP will likely witness a 20x price increase as traders anticipate the XRP ETF next.

Moreover, crypto analysts have already provided a bullish outlook for the XRP price. One of these analysts is Dark Defender who predicted that XRP could rally to as high as $18 in this market cycle.

Conclusion

A Solana ETF approval is undoubtedly bullish for JUP, NST, RENDER, BONK, and XRP. These coins, most especially NST, are ready to enjoy a 20x price increase once these SEC approves the SOL ETF.

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Coingape Staff

CoinGape comprises an experienced team of native content writers and editors working round the clock to cover news globally and present news as a fact rather than an opinion. CoinGape writers and reporters contributed to this article.

Disclaimer: The presented content may include the personal opinion of the author and is subject to market condition. Do your market research before investing in cryptocurrencies. The author or the publication does not hold any responsibility for your personal financial loss.





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