Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

PWC: Majority of Crypto Fund Managers Surveyed Predict Bitcoin Could Reach $100K by Year-End

Major financial services firm PWC has conducted a study and found that the majority of crypto fund managers surveyed believe that the price of bitcoin would be between $75K and $100K by the end of this year.　　Bitcoins Price Estimate by Crypto Fund Managers　　PWC, a Big Four accounting firm, published its “4th Annual Global Crypto Hedge Fund Report” last week. It was produced together with the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and Elwood Asset Management (now part of Coinshares).　　The data in the report comes from a survey conducted in April across a sample of 77 specialist crypto hedge fund managers, PWC explained, adding that their total assets under management (AUM) were $4.1 billion in 2021.　　The report includes bitcoin price predictions. “We gave crypto fund managers the opportunity to contribute their estimates on where the price of BTC and the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization would be on 31 December 2022,” the Big Four accounting firm detailed.　　The results showed that “while the overall crypto market was quite bearish, managers remained extremely bullish on BTC,” the report describes. Noting that “the median prediction of BTC price being $75,000,” PWC detailed:　　“The majority of predictions were within the $75,000 to $100,000 range (42%), with another 35%

2022-06-14Deep Dive

France Could Deploy Blockchain Ticketing for Paris 2024 Olympic Games

The French Governments Olympics committee is willing to run the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with minimum security risks for fans. As such, the organization might incorporate blockchain technology into its ticketing system and provide non-transferable, personalized passes to spectators.　　Blockchain to the Rescue　　According to a recent coverage, Michel Cadot – the interministerial delegate of the French Governments Olympics – submitted a report to the Prime Minister of France containing some potential amendments for the 2024 Olympic Games.　　One recommendation focuses on the ticketing system that will support the event. In his view, permits based on blockchain technology will provide fans with additional security. According to his plan, tickets should be non-transferable and sent by the organization a few days before the start of the Olympics.　　Spectators will be able to acquire them via a rotating QR code using blockchain technology. Once entering the venue, everyone will check-in and deactivate their ticket.　　Cadot believes this personalization will grant individuals numerous benefits as they will be able to receive messages via digital channels on issues such as how to reach the venue from every district in Paris and safety procedures during the Games. He also argued that blockchain ticketing could be successfully integrated into other major

2022-06-14Deep Dive

Russian Parliament to Review Bill Prohibiting Crypto Payments

Legislation making it illegal to pay with cryptocurrencies has been filed with the State Duma, the lower house of Russias parliament. The sponsors of the bill want to task crypto platforms to prevent transactions that could facilitate payments with digital assets.　　Draft Law Banning Use of Cryptocurrency for Payments Submitted to Russian Parliament　　Russian lawmakers will review a new bill imposing a ban on the use of digital financial assets, a legal term currently encompassing cryptocurrencies, and utilitarian digital rights, or tokens, as a means of payment in Russia. The document has been submitted to the State Duma by the Chairman of the Financial Market Committee Anatoly Aksakov, the crypto news outlet Forklog reported.　　According to the legislature‘s information portal, following the draft’s approval by the committee, the members of the lower house are expected to vote on the legislation on first reading in mid-June. If adopted by the deputies, the law will explicitly prohibit crypto payments inside the Russian Federation, on the backdrop of proposals to allow them in foreign trade deals.　　The authors of the bill also emphasize that the Russian ruble is the only legal tender in the country. In an explanatory note, they insist the ban will eliminate the risk

2022-06-14Deep Dive

Goldman Sachs Executes First-Ever Ether-Linked Derivative Trade

Banking giant Goldman Sachs began trading a derivative asset tied to Ether on Monday. The asset is intended to provide investors with indirect exposure to Ether – the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.　　As reported by Bloomberg, the counterparty of the trade was Marex Financial – a London-based financial services firm.　　The move comes on a day when the entire crypto market – including Ether – has fallen to lows unseen since December 2020. The total market is now worth less than $1 trillion, with Bitcoins market cap below $450 billion.　　The trade arguably indicates a sense of long-term faith in crypto as an asset class, despite recent downturns. In January, the companys former CEO admitted that crypto is “happening” after being a longtime skeptic.　　In the past, the bulk of Goldmans crypto trading options has centered around Bitcoin-linked derivatives, after restarting such services in July of 2021. It became the first major US bank to offer a Bitcoin OTC options trade in March.　　Goldman announced that it would soon offer cash-settled Ether trading options in April, and even claimed the crypto could surpass Bitcoin as a store of value in July 2021. For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory

2022-06-14Deep Dive

Binance Is Expanding Hirings Amid Falling Crypto Market

Several companies like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Gemini have been forced to cut staff and hiring due to the current bear market.　　Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has said that the bear market is a great time for crypto companies to hire more people and increase investments, Bloomberg News reported June 13.　　He said this during the Consensus conference in Austin, Texas. When asked about Coinbases decision to freeze hiring, he said:　　“We have a very healthy war chest; we in fact are expanding hiring right now.”　　He added that Binance is “kicking into high gear in M&A activity.”　　Zhao spoke extensively about the advantages of crypto winter, saying there are so many projects during the bull market and compensation demands are usually high.　　But the market is more balanced in the bear market. “if we are in a crypto winter, we will leverage that, we will use that to the max,” he concluded.　　His statements mean Binance is looking to increase investments and add to its growing portfolio that already includes a $200 million investment in Forbes. For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.　　Crypto companies facing job slashes　　While Binance might be considering new investments and hiring, the overall sentiment in

2022-06-14Deep Dive

Crypto Market Plunges Below $1T Amid Inflation-Driven Selloff

The total cryptocurrency market cap has fallen below $1 trillion for the first time since January 2021.　　Crypto in Crisis　　Crypto investors appear to be rushing for the exit after more macroeconomic turbulence.　　The crypto market has extended losses following Fridays higher-than-expected consumer price index inflation. Over the weekend, Bitcoin dropped by 17.4%, registering a new yearly low of around $23,911. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, fared worse, plummeting 27.3% in the same period.　　Despite the Federal Reserve raising interest rates by a total of 75 basis points in 2022, inflation has shown little sign of letting up, making more aggressive rate hikes more likely going forward. By raising rates, the Fed hopes to bring inflation back down to an acceptable level by slowing economic growth. However, doing so negatively impacts risk-on assets such as equities and cryptocurrencies.　　Since the Fed first committed to raising rates earlier this year, the crypto market has shed over $800 billion in value. In March, the sector‘s total market cap hovered around $1.8 trillion; now, data from CoinMarketCap shows that the asset class’ value has dipped below $1 trillion for the first time since January 2021.　　Total cryptocurrency market cap (Source: CoinMarketCap)　　Bitcoin has historically held up better than other crypto assets

2022-06-14Deep Dive

“Web5?” Jack Dorsey Plans Web3 Competitor Built On Bitcoin

Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter and Square, has been a big critic of evolving Web 3.0 ecosystem. In a bid to counter that Dorsey has launched its competitor Web5.　　How Web5 can outsmart Web3？　　As per the report, Web 5 will be a new approach to building Web 3 on the Bitcoin blockchain. The reason behind developing Web 5 on the BTC chain is that it is considered the most decentralized network. As this space is assured to be a decentralized system, the Twitter founder has mentioned that it is now acquired by venture capitalists.　　Web 5 will work with over the ownership of data and identity of a user. According to the blog, the Web2 ecosystem evolves around big companies owning users data. It stored by corporations across databases. Data privacy regulations have somehow failed to provide assurance to the customer. Web 5 aims to resolve it by building an “extra decentralized web”. It will try to give control to users of their data.　　Meanwhile, these same features were also promised by Web3 as well. The blog asserts that its data is portable, unlike Web2. Web 3 includes storage and identity protocols. However, in Web 5 these are part of its foundation.

2022-06-13Deep Dive

EU To Finalize Crypto Regulation Soon, What Does It Mean For Markets?

The European Union is set to finalize its Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill by as soon as this month, a recent report suggests.　　The bill, which was approved by the parliament earlier this year, will establish common regulation for crypto across the bloc.　　Introduced in 2020, MiCA intends to lay out comprehensive crypto regulation in the EU bloc.　　Bloomberg said in a report that European politicians are set to meet twice this month to resolve any issues surrounding the bill, clearing the way for its passing.　　The bill has also been fast-tracked in the wake of the Terra crash, which spurred increasing calls for more investor protection in crypto.　　Stablecoin regulation a point of contention　　Despite calls for speeding up regulation, insider sources told Bloomberg that lawmakers were still divided over some aspects of the bill.　　A major point of contention, especially in the wake of the Terra crash, is on how to regulate stablecoins. Lawmakers are discussing how to reduce the use of stablecoins, particularly in non-Euro transactions. They are also planning to introduce a ceiling to the amount of stablecoins that can be used in a transaction.　　Crypto commentator Patrick Hansen said on Twitter that the goal of limiting stablecoin use is to prevent the

2022-06-13Deep Dive

Crypto-Related Lawsuits Rising in Russia, Criminal Cases Increase by 40%

Courts in Russia are hearing a growing number of cases around crypto assets, a new study has shown. About two-thirds of them have been launched under provisions of the countrys Criminal Code but civil cases represent a large share as well.　　Criminal Cases Involving Cryptocurrency in Russia Near 1,000 in 2021　　Lawsuits related to cryptocurrency, exchange of digital assets and coin minting have seen a serious increase in Russia over the course of last year, reaching a total of 1,531. The number comes from research conducted by the cybersecurity company RTM Group and quoted by Izvestia this week.　　The majority of these, 954 cases, have been initiated under various articles of the Russian Criminal Code, the daily wrote on Friday. Another quarter of the proceedings, 365, are civil cases, almost one in 10 (141) is a bankruptcy, and 5% (71) are administrative cases, the article detailed.　　The authors of the study note that most often cryptocurrency appears in criminal cases related to drug trafficking as those behind such deals would like their payments to remain anonymous — 738 such cases were filed last year. Other criminal proceedings include the laundering of illicit funds using digital coins.　　Claims against unjust enrichment through crypto transactions form the

2022-06-13Deep Dive

Nigeria’s Largest Stock Exchange Plans to Adopt Blockchain for Settling Trades

The largest stock exchange in Nigeria – Nigerian Exchange Ltd. – will reportedly roll out a blockchain-enabled trading platform next year to facilitate the capital market and attract young investors. The main application of the distributed-ledger technology will be in trade settlements, the company revealed.　　According to Bloomberg, the exchange will partner up with a technology company, aiming to receive approvals from Nigerian watchdogs by 2023.　　Temi Popoola – the CEO of Nigerian Exchange Ltd. – viewed blockchain technology as a facilitator of the financial market, enabling an “effective way of trading financial assets.” He added the deployment could allow young investors to have “fast and easy access to the market,” as they have accounted for the majority of crypto users in the country.　　The firm‘s first electronic share offering, issued by MTN Group Ltd.’s Nigeria unit last year, was 1.2 times oversubscribed, with 85% of the investors under 40 years old. For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.　　It‘s still unclear whether the exchange will be directly implicated with cryptocurrency. If so, it has to operate in compliance with Nigeria’s SEC and the regulatory framework imposed by the countrys central bank.　　Last year, the Central Bank of

2022-06-13Deep Dive

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