Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitfinex Offers Crypto Crude Oil Swaps With Up To 100x Tether Leverage

Bitfinexs derivatives platform has recently announced an expansion of its services by offering perpetual contracts for three popular commodity instruments. Traders can now access these commodities through Bitfinex Derivatives, which were previously limited to traditional financial exchanges during regular trading hours. These instruments can be traded around-the-clock using Tether (USDT).　　The three commodities that will now be available on Bitfinex Derivatives are UK crude oil, palladium, and platinum. UK crude oil plays a crucial role in refinement for diesel fuel and gasoline, and is the benchmark for the light oil market in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Palladium is mainly used in manufacturing processes, including dentistry and jewelry, and is primarily sourced from the US, Russia, South Africa, and Canada. Platinum, on the other hand, can also be made into jewelry, but has various other uses such as in computer hard disks and chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment. As with any commodity, their prices are influenced by demand.　　Bitfinexs derivatives platform has further expanded its offerings by launching three global commodities to add to its existing portfolio of over 60 crypto perpetuals. These commodities, including Tether gold perpetuals and silver perpetuals, were introduced on March 15 and can be traded with

2023-03-18Deep Dive

Vietnam has a Growing Cryptocurrency Market

Vietnams crypto market is thriving, with over 16.6 million cryptocurrency holders, according to a local media outlet report. The report cited the “Vietnam Crypto Market Report 2022,” which shows that 31% of Vietnamese crypto holders own bitcoin. Vietnam has now become the second Southeast Asian country, after Thailand, with the highest number of crypto investors. With a population of over 97 million, around 17% of the countrys total population holds crypto.Blockchain Projects in Vietnam　　According to the “Vietnam Crypto Market Report 2022,” approximately 200 blockchain projects are operating in Vietnam. These active blockchain projects mainly focus on decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Web 3, Infrastructure, Wallet, game finance (GameFi), and others. Of these projects, games, and metaverse account for 28.8%, DeFi for 26.0%, NFT for 12.4%, Infrastructure for 11.3%, and Web3 for 5.1%.　　The report highlights a few of the blockchain projects operating in Vietnam, including Axie Infinity, Kyber Network, Coin98, Rikkei Finance, Spores, Titan Hunters, TomoChain, and SotaTek. The report states that ten of the 200 companies have a token market capitalization of over $100 million, which has a global influence.Vietnams Token Market Cap　　The report also revealed the token market cap of some of the popular blockchain projects operating in

2023-03-17Deep Dive

Exchanges In Moscow Are Prepared To Send Money To London, According To A Report

Transparency International Russia has conducted a study revealing that certain Russian digital asset exchanges are willing to exchange digital coins for paper money in the UK without going through the necessary Know-Your-Customer (KYC) procedures. The study discovered that over 20 cryptocurrency exchanges are operating in Moscow International Business Center, with eight of them ready to exchange U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins for British pounds and deliver the cash to London.Blacklisted Crypto Broker Suex Involved in Illicit Transactions　　One of the exchanges identified in the study was Suex, a crypto broker blacklisted by the US Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in September 2021 for facilitating ransomware-linked transactions. The study also revealed that another blacklisted exchange, Garantex, had received significant amounts of money from a platform called Pridechange.Transfer Process for Russian Crypto Exchanges　　The transfer process for these exchanges was found to be similar in all cases. Customers would send tether (USDT) to a wallet address provided by the exchange, and once the payment was confirmed, a courier, typically a Russian speaker, would deliver the fiat cash to a specified location in London. Despite anti-money laundering regulations requiring cryptocurrency exchanges to verify the identity of customers, none of the Russian platforms asked to

2023-03-17Deep Dive

Arbitrum To Airdrop ARB Tokens In March, Complete Details Inside

Arbitrum, a well-known Layer 2 solution on the Ethereum network, has recently revealed plans to airdrop its governance token, ARB, on March 23. This move follows Arbitrums previous announcement of its intention to fully decentralize. The airdrop will amount to 12.75% of the tokens total supply and will be distributed to users who have been active on the network in the past year.　　　　　　Arbitrum Launches Airdrop Campaign　　As per the official blog post, the upcoming ARB token will signify the official transition of Arbitrum into a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO). This will allow ARB holders to participate in the decision-making process for Arbitrum One and Arbitrum Nova networks, which facilitate fast and cost-efficient transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. These critical decisions will be subject to voting by the token holders.　　Offchain Labs, the firm behind the development of Arbitrum, claims that the ARB token will enable the ecosystem to be more decentralized than other scaling chains. This assertion is in spite of the foundations plans to allocate a significant percentage of tokens to its investors and core contributors, amounting to 44% of the total supply. Nevertheless, it was emphasized that the ARB token will not be utilized for paying transaction fees on the

2023-03-17Deep Dive

CNMV Warns Against Unlicensed Crypto Institutions Operating in Spain

The Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), Spains financial regulatory agency, has recently warned the public against unlicensed, unregistered, and unauthorized financial institutions operating within its borders.CNMV warns investors of cryptocurrency risks and sets regulatory requirements in Spain　　The legal standing of cryptocurrencies in Spain is not yet fully established, and the regulatory structure is still being developed. The absence of legal security, price fluctuation, and the potential for deception are just a few of the dangers connected with dealing in cryptocurrencies that have been highlighted by the CNMV in a number of investment alerts.　　WikiBit as a global blockchain exchange regulatory query platform always exercises the verification of the institutions in other financial authorities to help the public not get landed into pitfalls. Upon verifying the list of institutions listed below are indeed illegally operating financial investments. So beware!　　CAANHOLDINGS　　SWISSCOININVEST　　FUTURE PLAN INVEST　　MEGA CAPITAL　　LEADPARTENERINV　　HELIUM100 BOOST FX　　LITEFXANALYSIS　　BINARY FOREX TRADING STOCK　　ELITE MORTGAGE　　In addition, the CNMV requires companies that offer cryptocurrency services to comply with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations. Cryptocurrency exchanges and wallet providers must also register with the CNMV and meet certain requirements to operate legally in Spain.CNMV Warns Investors To Only Deal With Authorized Financial Institutions　　In its warning, the CNMV stressed

2023-03-16Exposure

Coinbase Delists 6 Top Altcoins Following Internal Review

Coinbase Global, the largest digital asset trading platform in the U.S., has announced the suspension of trading for six major cryptocurrencies on its platform. This decision was made following a routine internal review conducted by the exchange in March.　　　　Coinbase Delists 6 Major Altcoins　　　　　　Coinbase, the largest digital asset trading platform in the United States, has announced the suspension of trading for six altcoins including Rally (RLY), DFI Money (YFII), Mirror (MIR), OMG Network (OMG), Loom Network (LOOM), and Augur (REP). This decision was made as part of a routine internal review carried out by the exchange, which periodically monitors the assets listed on its platform to ensure they meet its listing standards. Coinbase shared this information publicly through a tweet, stating that the decision was based on their assessment and subsequent reviews.　　Coinbase has announced that it will suspend trading for six altcoins, including RLY, YFII, MIR, OMG, LOOM, and REP, across all levels and platforms, such as Coinbase Pro, Coinbase Exchange, and Coinbase Prime. However, customers will still have access to their deposited funds and can withdraw them anytime. The suspension will begin on March 29, 2023, according to the exchange.　　　　Price Reaction To Coinbase News　　The news of Coinbases decision to delist

2023-03-16Deep Dive

No Fees Required: Coinbase Allows Singapore Users to Transfer Funds via Standard Chartered

The well-known cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has revealed that users in Singapore can now move money to and from their accounts without paying any costs by using local institutions. Traditional bank Standard Chartered makes transactions in Singapore currency possible. This action makes it possible for Singaporean buyers to engage in digital assets, particularly at a time when market worries about financial security and crypto banking are prevalent.　　Customers could only move cryptocurrency into and out of their Coinbase accounts or make cryptocurrency purchases using a Visa or Mastercard debit or credit card in the past. In an interview with Reuters, Hassan Ahmed, Coinbases country head for Singapore, stated that this development is a part of the businesss foreign growth plan and aims to expand its retail products in Singapore. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) granted Bitcoin preliminary permission to provide financial services in the city-state last year.　　Singapore has usually embraced cryptocurrency companies, but it has been careful about promoting consumer participation. The MAS put forth regulations in October 2022 that would prohibit trading companies from providing rewards or funding to private clients. The decision by Coinbase is a major development for Singapores cryptocurrency market and may draw in more private buyers.　　Following

2023-03-15Deep Dive

Signature Bank Was Under Criminal Investigation Prior To Its Downfall

Before authorities took the lender over the weekend, Bloomberg News reported that US investigators were looking into Signature Banks connections to cryptocurrency customers. Investigators from the US Justice Department in Washington and Manhattan were looking into whether the now-defunct bank took the required precautions to stop possible money laundering by its customers. Furthermore, the firm was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).　　The claim comes after a declaration from New Yorks financial authority that its closure of Signature Bank was not influenced by cryptocurrencies but rather by a serious loss of trust in the banks management following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank. in the form of an a, and as they have been, and the current, and the current, the current and the current and the present, and the current and the current and the present.　　The third-largest collapse in U.S. financial history, New York-based Signature Bank was shut down by state authorities on Sunday. A failure at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) two days prior to the shutdown left billions of dollars in assets abandoned.　　As of September of last year, the bank had a large connection to the bitcoin market; nearly a quarter of its investments originated from

2023-03-15Deep Dive

Anchorage Digital lays off 20% of staff as other crypto-friendly banks shutdown

On March 14, Bloomberg reported that Anchorage Digital, a bank specializing in cryptocurrency, will be reducing its workforce by approximately 20%.　　　　Anchorage lays off 20% of staff　　According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency bank Anchorage Digital is set to lay off 75 employees, constituting 20% of its workforce. Anchorage cited regulatory uncertainties as the reason for the layoffs and plans to concentrate on its role as an “unequivocal qualified custodian.” The bank did not specify any particular regulatory issues. The announcement came soon after three crypto-related banks, Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank, halted operations or were shut down by regulators in early March.　　Anchorage Digital operates as a federally chartered bank, and while it had conflicts with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) last year, it did not indicate whether these layoffs would impact its banking operations.　　Other firms have performed layoffs　　Anchorages layoffs are the latest in a string of similar measures taken by cryptocurrency firms due to the general “crypto winter.” In January, Coinbase laid off 950 employees, Crypto.com laid off around 800 employees, and Kraken let go of 1,100 employees. Other firms such as Huobi, Gemini, Blockchain.com, Genesis, ConsenSys, Bittrex, Chainalysis, and Amber Group have also recently carried out

2023-03-15Deep Dive

Silicon Valley Bank's Collapse Raises Concerns for Stablecoin Ecosystem

The recent depegging of USDC from $1 has raised concerns within the cryptocurrency industry about the stability of the stablecoin ecosystem. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), where Circle held $3.3 billion or 8.2% of its USDC reserves, caused uncertainty and resulted in USDCs initial depegging on Friday. The stablecoin fell to as low as 88 cents on Saturday before recovering to $1 after the funds became available on Monday morning. However, this incident highlighted a crucial flaw in the design of existing fiat-backed stablecoins, according to Nevin Freeman, co-founder and CEO of Reserve.　　Freeman noted that stablecoin issuers have no choice but to rely on fractional reserve banks when providing liquidity to their users. If any of the banks fail without a bailout and the issuer cant fill the hole with their own capital or a new capital injection, it would either force a bank run on the stablecoin, leaving the last to redeem with nothing, or the issuer would have to close down and go into bankruptcy to prevent such a run. USDCs price acted as a live prediction market for whether SVB depositors would be made whole, Freeman said. The stablecoin rallied from 97 cents to 99

2023-03-14Deep Dive

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