Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Switzerland Has 'the Most Profitable Bitcoin Traders' Worldwide, While France 'Is the Best Bitcoin T

Researchers Rank the Best Bitcoin Trading Nations and the Most Profitable Bitcoin Traders by Country　　This week, invezz.com researchers published a study that looks at the most profitable bitcoin traders by country by leveraging statistics from multiple datasets. The studys author Dan Ashmore explained one dataset stemmed from Chainalysis, which shows the top 25 countries in the world by realized bitcoin (BTC) gains in 2020.　　This served as the studys backdrop, as the invezz.com research team also utilized statistics from Worldometers and Triple A. While the data shows Switzerland currently has the most profitable bitcoin traders worldwide, France is the top country in terms of “the best bitcoin trading nation.”　　“[France] ranked 12th in the percentage of the country invested in crypto (3.3%), but an impressive third and eighth respectively in bitcoin gains per capita and bitcoin gains per investor, at $275 and $13 respectively,” Ashmores report explains. “While a lot of other countries placed well in certain categories, France was the only country to be above average in all three metrics.”Invezz.com Study: ‘France Claims the Title of Best Bitcoin Traders, Switzerland Has the Most Profitable Traders at $1,268 of Gains per Investor’　　Following France on the list of countries, the Czech Republic and

2022-04-21Deep Dive

Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge Hacker has already moved 38,293 ETH ($114.8 million)

Almost a month ago, Ronin Network, the side-chain built to scale Axie Infinity was exploited by hackers who made off with over $615 million worth of ETH.　　The hackers seem to have cashed in 28,164 ETH out of the 173,000 ETH stolen in the Ronin Bridge attack, with a current market value of $86,128,384.73.　　The attackers had initially moved over 2000 ETH ($6 million) 2 weeks ago, and now the hackers are on the move again.　　The image below, taken from Reddit, shows a list of outgoing transactions related to the wallets involved in the exploit.　　Reddit user ThatGuy222666 has been keeping track of the main wallet since the Ronin Bridge was exploited. It looks like the attackers are using multiple wallets to deposit the ETH into Tornado Cash, a crypto mixer that allows users to disguise their digital trail on the Ethereum blockchain.　　According to the image below, it takes the hackers 4-6 hours to empty each new wallet of 100 ETH.　　There are outliers, such as this wallet, to which the attacker sent 10,000 ETH over a day ago.　　Whoever the exploiter is, the quantity of ETH transferred is constantly increasing.　　“The most baffling part of the whole situation to me, is that 327 different wallets

2022-04-20Deep Dive

40+ Crypto Business React to EU Regulatory Frame

Reuters reports that over 40 cryptocurrency firms have written a letter to all 27 finance ministers of EU member states, voicing their concern over recently passed crypto regulatory bill.　　According to Reuters, 46 leading crypto business have voiced their concerns, through writing a letter, over EU crypto policy, especially regarding a crypto regulatory bill passed by the EU earlier this month. With 46 people as its signatories, the letter is drafted by Jean-Marie Mognetti, CEO Coinshares, and Diana Biggs, CSO of DeFi Technologies.　　Mognetti told Reuters that growth of crypto in the EU states is halted because of their relatively harsh crypto policies, which acts as hindrance for crypto companies to expand in the region.　　Earlier this month the EU passed a bill that leveled stringent regulations on the crypto market. The bill proposed that all the EU transactions, carrying Bitcoin or any other digital assets, must be traced. For the purpose of which all the crypto companies operating in the region are bound to obtain and hold customers information, even of personal nature.　　The letter noted that obtaining and holding information about crypto holders will compromise their privacy, as the information will be publicly available. The letter also stated that DeFi market should

2022-04-20Deep Dive

Australia’s First Bitcoin ETF To List Next Week

Australias first Bitcoin ETF, launched by Cosmos Asset Management, will be listed next week on the CBOE equities trading exchange. The move comes as four market participants agreed to provide margins for the product in line with requirements by clearinghouse ASX Clear.　　The ETF will begin trading on April 27. It is also expected to bring about $1 billion worth of inflows into the fund.　　Cosmos Bitcoin ETF Will Be the First in Australia　　The ETF launch comes as three institutional-grade clearing participants and one retail clearing participant agreed to provide the 42% margin demanded by ASX Clear.　　Hamish Treleaven, the chief risk officer at ASX, told Australian Financial Review:　　“We are now at our minimum number of clearing participants and that means we are good to go.”　　Therefore, ASX Clear will issue a seven-day regulatory approval notice to market participants on Wednesday, April 20. The notice will give brokers, clearers, clearing participants, market makers, and investors a seven-day period to plan accordingly.　　The Cosmos bitcoin ETF is a fund of the fund as it invests in the Canada-listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF. The crypto fund manager Cosmos Capital had recently partnered with Purpose Investments to launch bitcoin ETFs in Australia.　　In addition, it is believed that Cosmos had

2022-04-20Deep Dive

Missed Out on Shiba Inu? This Crypto Could Hit $1 Million by 2030

Shiba Inu ( SHIB -0.52% ) investors have been hit with big losses over the last six months. While the meme token is still up 45,000,000% since hitting a low in November 2020, it has fallen 70% from its high in October 2021. Despite that setback, Shiba Inu still boasts over a million holders, and many investors are hoping that burn projects and other catalysts can reenergize its price.　　While anything is possible, the meme token currently lacks a competitive edge, and burning some of the tokens to make the remaining tokens more valuable is not an indefinite solution or a good investment thesis. For that reason, I think crypto investors should consider other assets.　　Bitcoin ( BTC 0.24% ) is a great place to start. Heres why.The investment thesis　　The bull case for Bitcoin is straightforward: It was the first widely adopted cryptocurrency, and it remains the most popular by a wide margin. In fact, with a market cap of $765 billion, Bitcoin accounts for 41% of the value of all cryptocurrencies. Additionally, Bitcoin is limited to 21 million tokens, and any economics textbook will tell you that scarcity makes an asset valuable. More to the point, when demand for a scarce

2022-04-19Deep Dive

Bitcoin hodlers targeting $100K is what's preventing 40% price drawdown, data suggests

Bitcoin (BTC) dropping to $25,000 or lower is unlikely thanks to hodlers hoping for all-time highs, not speculative traders, new research says.　　In a series of tweets on April 19, popular analyst Root argued that there is “no real reason” for a dramatic Bitcoin sell-off.No major selling from “maturing” hodlers　　Bitcoin has yet to wow the market with its all-time highs this halving cycle, and this has contributed to a loss of faith among some investors.　　At the same time, on-chain indicators remain much more bullish than spot price action, and those investors still in the market support the idea that BTC/USD will go far higher in the future.　　This is thanks to a lack of short-term holders (STHs) on the market, Root notes. Even the most recent all-time highs of $69,000 last November came with relatively few speculatory bets — something which contrasts strongly with the all-time high during the last halving cycle in December 2017.　　What is more, it is long-term holders (LTHs) hoping for fresh price discovery who are now supporting the market, not new STHs looking to “buy the dip.”　　“With the HODL Army growing its allowing us to make new ATHs (69k top) without barely any STHs in the market,” Root

2022-04-19Deep Dive

Everything You Need to Know About Play-to-Earn on Algorand in 2022

The gaming industry is diverse and ever-increasing, and recent developments prove that this also applies to blockchain-powered gaming. As the latest estimates suggest, the number of crypto wallets related to gaming witnessed an astounding increase from 29,563 at the start of 2021 to a whopping 754,000 in the third quarter of 2021. With this impressive growth rate, it is no surprise that savvy crypto investors have started to focus on the next big thing in the crypto market: play to earn gaming.　　Axie Infinity, for example, touched an astonishing market cap of $7.8 billion, which some experts believe led to a frenzy for P2E games. Other P2E games, such as The Sandbox, saw an upsurge in activity, reaching millions of users globally. So far, most of these popular P2E titles are based on the gold standard of smart contracts, Ethereum.　　However, similarly to the DeFi space, users and investors alike have started to voice their concerns about Ethereums limitations, namely scalability and high transaction fees. To tackle these issues, P2E game developers turned their attention to Ethereum alternatives that can truly support the growth of this nascent industry.　　Boasting a multi-billion dollar market capitalization, Algorand ($ALGO) is undoubtedly among the most prominent Ethereum

2022-04-19Deep Dive

UAE Airliner Emirates to Launch NFTs and Experiences in the Metaverse

First Projects Already Underway　　The UAE airliner Emirates has said it will soon launch non-fungible tokens (NFT) and “exciting experiences in the metaverse” for its clientele as well as its workers. According to the airliner, the move aligns with advances in the UAE‘s digital economy as well as with the country’s virtual assets related initiatives.　　In a recently released statement, the airliner suggested that work on the firsts projects is already underway with the “launch anticipated in the coming months.” Remarking on Emirates‘ NFT plans, the airliner’s chairman and CEO Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum pointed to his companys history of embracing advanced technologies.UAEs Vision for the Digital Economy　　Al Maktoum also shared what Emirates hopes to achieve with the launch of the NFTs. He said:　　We are excited about the opportunities in the digital space of the future and are committing a significant investment in financial and resourcing terms, to develop products and services using advanced technologies that will deliver on revenue, brand experience, and business efficiencies.　　In order to help set Emirates on a path towards achieving these goals, the CEO said the airliner‘s future-themed Emirates Pavilion at Expo “is being repurposed as a hub to develop cutting-edge future experiences aligned with

2022-04-19Deep Dive

Iran to Increase Penalties for Unauthorized Cryptocurrency Mining

New Penalties for Illegal Cryptocurrency Mining in Iran　　An official with Iran‘s Power Generation, Distribution, and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said the country’s administration will approve new rules to increase penalties for unauthorized cryptocurrency mining, IRNA publication reported Sunday.　　Mohammad Khodadadi Bohlouli explained that under the new law:　　The increased penalties include raising fines by at least three and at most five times, imprisoning the offender, and revoking the offenders business license.　　“Any use of subsidized electricity intended for households, industrial, agricultural, and commercial subscribers for mining cryptocurrency is prohibited,” Khodadadi said.　　The Iranian government approved cryptocurrency mining as an industry in 2019. In January 2020, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade issued over 1,000 licenses for cryptocurrency mining operations.　　However, Iranian authorities said that some unauthorized miners are using household electricity for cryptocurrency mining, resulting in major issues for the countrys electricity industry. In December last year, crypto miners were ordered to halt operations to prevent winter blackouts. In September, the authorities reportedly confiscated over 220,000 mining machines and shut down nearly 6,000 illegal crypto mining farms across the country.

2022-04-19Deep Dive

Inflation-linked stablecoin from Frax Finance is a big deal, here’s why

Frax Finance will soon launch the Frax Price Index (FPI) token, expanding the firms suite of protocol offerings.　　FPI is unique in that its the first stablecoin to track the U.S Consumer Price Index (CPI). Using oracle data from Chainlink, each month will see a “dollar-denominated value” adjustment in line with the movement of inflation.　　“The system will adjust every month according to an on-chain Consumer Price Index oracle so that holders of the FPI will increase their dollar-denominated value each month according to the reported CPI increase.”　　The latest U.S. CPI data showed that inflation has increased to 8.5% in March versus 7.3% in February – the highest in 40 years. The increase from February was the fastest monthly jump since September 2005, keeping pressure on the Fed to step up with quantitative tightening measures.Runaway inflation is here　　Details of FPI first broke in January 2022, when the Frax team announced a new algorithmic stablecoin designed to be inflation-resistant.　　Algorithmic stablecoins differ from fiat-backed, crypto-backed, and commodity-backed stablecoins. They maintain price stability using algorithms and smart contracts to manage the supply of tokens in circulation.　　“An algorithmic stablecoin system will reduce the number of tokens in circulation when the market price falls below the price

2022-04-19Deep Dive

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