Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

For the second time, Kraken has left Japan, citing a "poor crypto market."

Because of a “poor crypto market,” the major cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has chosen to shut down operations in Japan for a second time.　　In a blog post published on December 28, Kraken stated that as part of its plans to “prioritize resources” and expenditures, the company has chosen to stop operating in Japan and deactivate with the Financial Services Agency by January 31, 2023. It said:　　“Current market conditions in Japan in combination with a weak crypto market globally mean the resources needed to further grow our business in Japan arent justified at this time.”　　　　The exchange that Kraken offers to Japanese users is run by its affiliate Payward Asia Inc. From 2014 to 2018, the same subsidiary firm operated in Japan prior to actually leaving in April 2018 to better concentrate its energies on expansion in “other geographical locations.”　　The subsidiary made the decision to relaunch in October 2020 with a Tokyo base, enabling spot trading on five significant assets with future expansion plans. With the conclusion of the second round, Kraken has agreed to permit all impacted customers to withdraw their cash from the exchange by January 31, 2023, at the latest.　　Users have the option of withdrawing their cryptocurrency assets to a

2022-12-28Deep Dive

How Solana is fixing outages, and the challenges it will tackle in 2023

2022 has been a particularly turbulent year for Solana (SOL). With the announcement of the collapse of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX in early November, the price of SOL plummeted 55% over the month.　　SOL was trading at $11.15 as of press time, down 70% from its November top of $37.73. Solana was last trading at this price in February 2021. Furthermore, according to CryptoSlate data, the price of SOL has declined 94.21% in the last year and is down 95.71% from its all-time high in November 2021.　　During the FTX debacle, the total value locked (TVL) in Solana decentralized finance (DeFi) plunged 63% in a week. Solana TVL was valued at $330 million on November 14 after losing about $500 million in a week, but it has since dropped to $214.53 million as of press time, according to DefiLlama data.　　Solana was an early supporter of Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the disgraced former CEO of FTX who is currently out on bail facing criminal trial for fraud. According to Forbes, SBF-owned hedge firm Alameda Research held 53 million SOL tokens as of late August.　　Solanas drop was fueled by rumors that Binance was considering buying out FTX. Analysts expected that if Binance was taken

2022-12-28Deep Dive

Crypto Lender Vauld Cancels Deal With Nexo, a Competitor

A planned takeover by rival Nexo has been scrapped, according to cryptocurrency lender Vauld, almost five months after the parties initially agreed to examine the possibility of a merger and much less than a month first before the Singapore-based target was due to develop a reconstruction and rehabilitation.　　Nevertheless, based on a person familiar with the negotiations, talks are still ongoing. The person claimed that in order for the arrangement to be canceled, there must be implied agreement, which is not the situation right now.　　“We were previously exploring a potential acquisition by Nexo as part of the proposed restructuring plan,” Vauld stated in a private message on Twitter. “To provide a very brief summary, our discussions with Nexo have unfortunately not come to fruition.”　　According to Nexo, the agreement is still ongoing.　　“Nexo has not given up on its attempt to save Vauld and help its creditors recover the maximum possible platform funds,” Kalin Metodiev, a managing partner and co-founder, stated in an email.　　As it considered reorganization alternatives, Vauld halted all withdrawals, trading, and deposits on its platform, CoinDesk reported in July. The firm has until January 20 to complete a restructuring plan after filing for bankruptcy protection earlier that month in Singapore.

2022-12-27Deep Dive

Changpeng Zhao on Initiatives for Binance in Georgia, Twitter Ventures, FTX Investments, and etc.

The CEO of Binance talked during a media briefing at a cryptocurrency exchange conference in Tbilisi about the firms aspirations to grow in Georgia, its investments in Twitter, and its support of Elon Musk. The entrepreneur discussed the FTX scenario and allegations about his involvement in the industrys demise, contrasted CBDC and cryptocurrency, discussed the stance toward economic penalties, and responded to other community-related queries.　　　　On November 30, the Binance Community Meetup took place in Georgias capital. The event occurred in the multipurpose space Republic and attracted a sizable number of members of the nearby cryptocurrency world. Changpeng Zhao was the events featured speaker.　　At a press conference held at the Tbilisi Marriott Hotel, the CEO of Binance engaged in conversation with the media. A group of journalists from both regional and well-known worldwide media, such Forbes, Bloomberg, and others, assembled to interrogate CZ.　　Changpeng Zhaos major elements during the media briefing were as follows:　　Binance is still a young company.　　The CEO of Binance met with Irakli Garibashvili, the prime minister of Georgia. More precise regulatory requirements for the industry were specifically considered. The business intends to dramatically expand its footprint in the nation in the future. Additionally, there are plans to make investment

2022-12-27Deep Dive

Mark Cuban Increases Bitcoin Bets While Criticizing Gold

“I want Bitcoin to go down a lot further so I can buy some more,” Cuban said in an appearance on comedian Bill Mahers “Club Random” podcast.　　Dallas Mavericks owner remarked that gold investments were not worthwhile and that he greatly favored digital content. Long a proponent of cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin, Cuban, who is worth $6.25 billion, has praised them.　　The investor continued by saying that holding gold today is essentially equivalent to having a digital transaction; for this reason, he greatly preferred to invest in Bitcoin.　　As per CoinGecko, the current price of bitcoin is $16,844; this is significantly less than the record high price of $69,044 it reached in 2017. Silver and gold have performed significantly better as assets in 2022. The metals have largely maintained their worth despite the decline in the cryptocurrency market and American stocks. Currently, the price of gold is $1,800 per ounce, up from $1,807 at this time the year before.　　Because Bitcoin is unbacked by anything, according to Maher, it is not worthwhile to purchase. Cuban retaliated, claiming that it was useless to own stock in “90% of the companies out there.”　　The two decided on one thing at least during the two hours

2022-12-27Deep Dive

Which is a good investment: Bitcoin or Ethereum?

Despite the famously unstable nature of the cryptocurrency industry, Bitcoin (BTC -0.29%) and Ethereum (ETH -0.16%) have become the two best choices for investors seeking a degree of security. The two currencies with the greatest track histories, a proven ability to weather market downturns, and the greatest liquidity are Bitcoin and Ethereum. These two coins make up about 60% of the market cap of all cryptocurrencies.　　Furthermore, as Coinbase Global (COIN 2.60%) notes in its brand-new 2023 Crypto Market Outlook Report, things are probably going to stay pretty much the same in 2019. In 2023, investors will continue to pour money into Bitcoin and Ethereum as a result of a widespread flight to quality during a challenging macroeconomic period, claims Coinbase. But which one, if you had to pick just one, would be better for your portfolio？　　Furthermore, as Coinbase Global (COIN 2.60%) notes in its brand-new 2023 Crypto Market Outlook Report, things are probably going to stay pretty much the same in 2019. In 2023, investors will continue to pour money into Bitcoin and Ethereum as a result of a widespread flight to quality during a challenging macroeconomic period, claims Coinbase. But which one, if you had to pick just one,

2022-12-27Deep Dive

Crypto’s Top 5 Wildest Moments of 2022

Cryptoassets, like bitcoin, have been present since 2009, but their popularity and significance skyrocketed in 2021.　　During the pandemic, many crypto loan and investment options appeared, with some proving to be more promising than others. This year, 2022, has witnessed a series of catastrophes that would restructure and redefine the market in the coming year.　　Much of the crypto industrys funk can be traced back to the meltdown of Terras UST stablecoin and the following market instability, which led to widespread layoffs and other symptoms of an industry in crisis.　　Cryptoasset losses impacted both traditional investors and millennials, who comprised the majority of the crypto-investing client base, and many people were turned off by the substantial dangers highlighted by the precipitous decline.　　These are the five wildest moments in the industry this year:　　The implosion of Terras UST and Luna — and the ensuing crypto turmoil　　　　TerraUSD (UST) was always intended to be worth exactly one dollar, but its price fell below $1 in May. It wasnt the first time a currency was devalued, but it swiftly became the most catastrophic, prompting widespread investor concern.　　As an algorithmic stablecoin, UST was not backed by US dollar-denominated assets, but was instead issued and burned by an algorithm using

2022-12-27Deep Dive

450K BTC moved to cold storage in 2022

According to Glassnode data, 450,000 Bitcoin (BTC) kept on an exchange or a hot wallet before 2022 have been relocated to cold storage throughout the course of the year.　　Multiple black swan occurrences have occurred in the market during the last year, resulting in around 550,000 BTC leaving exchange reserves. These reserves shrank in large portions on multiple occasions. For example, Binance lost 90,000 BTC in seven days in December, FTX lost 70,000 BTC in two weeks in June, and Coinbase lost 200,000 BTC in four days in November.　　The orange line in the graphic below reflects the total amount of BTC held on cryptocurrency exchanges since the start of the year.　　The exchanges began the year with just under $2.8 million in BTC and ended with roughly $2.25 million, a decline of about 20%. Current exchange-held BTC reserves amount to less than 12% of total BTC supply.　　Self custody　　Over a million BTC entered self-custody this year as well. The orange line on the figure below depicts the illiquid BTC supply level, which increases.　　The illiquid BTC supply was 14 million in January and more than 15 million in December. This also means that 78% of the circulating BTC supply is kept cold.　　As a reminder,

2022-12-27Deep Dive

Solana’s Top NFT Projects DeGods and Y00ts to Migrate Chains

Following months of rumors that DeGods and Y00ts, two of the top Solana non-fungible token (NFT) projects, will leave the SOL ecosystem, the projects teams confirmed the migration on Twitter on Sunday.　　The team announced that DeGods would be transferring to Ethereum and Y00ts will be moving to Polygon in early Q1.　　“Theres an argument to be made that [DeGods] has topped out on Solana,” the projects leader, Rohun Vora, also known as Frank, remarked on Twitter Spaces on Monday. “Its difficult to accept, but its been difficult for us to develop at the rate we want to grow. If Ethereum is where we need to go to continue expanding, thats what we need to do.”　　The collections are two of the most talked-about in the Solana NFT market, with DeGods demanding the highest floor price in the ecosystem at 515 SOL (approximately $5,750) at the time of writing. Y00ts, DeGods sister PFP collection launched this fall, has a price of 148 SOL (about $1,660).　　Following the news, sales of DeGods increased, with the collections floor price climbing 12% as of Monday. Y00ts sales have been reasonably stable, with the floor increasing by only 5 SOL (about $55). According to Magic Eden data, sales

2022-12-27Deep Dive

Top 3 Alternative Currencies Under $100 With Substantial Utility Demand

A cryptocurrency is a sort of virtual money that is available for online purchases and uses encryption algorithms to protect them from fraud. Cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin are alluded to as altcoins.　　Traders who want to make money are quite interested in these unregulated currencies, and occasionally speculators drive values sky-high. The price of bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, has fluctuated erratically this year. Out of the thousands of cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap, investors have a wide variety of options for choosing the right digital assets.　　SOLANA　　Solana is among the most well-known cryptocurrencies. Solana has emerged as the strongest driver among such major cryptocurrencies over the previous year, increasing by well over 10,000%. Solana has attracted many speculators as an Ethereum replacement. Both blockchains enable smart contracts. However, Solana provides far quicker system throughput and less expensive transaction fees than Ethereum.　　The price of Solana is now $11.32, with a $4 B market cap and an 18.46% decrease in 24-hour trading volume. It is currently $116 million. At the same time, there are about 367,056,407 SOL in circulation.Tether　　Tether is the third-largest cryptocurrency globally by market value. It is very different from bitcoin and other virtual currencies, though. An illustration of a stablecoin is

2022-12-26Deep Dive

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