Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Iran plans to launch its own CBDC

The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has announced that it has notified domestic banks and credit facilities about the regulatory framework for Irans central bank digital currency, known as crypto-rial.　　　　Iran Launching crypto-rail 　　According to a recent report, the laws for minting and distributing digital money will be observed. The Central Bank of Iran will mint the crypto-rials, and the institution will determine the maximum quantity of the currency.　　The study goes on to discuss the procedure of issuing this digital money. It presents a distributed ledger system with a list of permitted financial institutions and how smart contracts may be used for the project.　　Earlier CBI pronouncements indicate how the crypto-rial would become Irans new currency. According to the study, the money would be utilised in the same way as banknotes and coins are, but the procedure would be purely digital.　　Previous articles on this CBDC say that it will not compete with other global digital currencies. The central bank will also be responsible for authorising the institutions that will be a part of this system and assessing the effects of the new currency on the economy.　　The reports have not mentioned wallets or the transaction fees imposed to CBDC users. The plan will

2022-04-13Deep Dive

Robinhood Lists Shiba Inu and 3 More Cryptocurrencies — SHIB Price Soars

Robinhood Finally Lists Shiba Inu Crypto　　Popular trading platform Robinhood announced the listing of four new cryptocurrencies Tuesday. The company wrote:　　Were pleased to announce that customers can now buy and sell four additional cryptocurrencies through Robinhood Crypto: compound (COMP), polygon (MATIC), solana (SOL) and shiba inu (SHIB).　　Supporters of shiba inu are ecstatic to see that SHIB is now live on the Robinhood app. The SHIB community has been petitioning on Change.org for the platform to list the meme coin since October last year. Nearly 560K signatures have been collected as of Tuesday.　　“Over the past year, our crypto customers have consistently asked for two things: the ability to send and receive their tokens, and a broader selection of cryptocurrencies,” the Robinhood announcement noted.　　The company added that it has addressed customers top request by rolling out new crypto wallets to over two million users.　　Steve Quirk, chief brokerage officer at Robinhood, commented:　　Were excited to add more choices for our customers as we work to make Robinhood the best place to invest in crypto.　　He further opined: “As a safety-first company, we have a rigorous framework in place to help us evaluate assets for listing, and we remain committed to providing a safe and educational crypto

2022-04-13Deep Dive

BIS releases study of CBDCs and their role in financial inclusion of the unbanked

The Bank for International Settlements, or BIS, released a paper Tuesday on central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, and how they can be used to meet policy goals for financial inclusion. The paper drew on interviews conducted in the second half of last year at nine central banks that are currently exploring retail CBDCs. It looked at common goals across a range of economic development levels and challenges to inclusion.　　The paper identified two distinct approaches to CBDC. Some central banks saw digital currency as a catalyst for innovation and development while others expected it to serve as a complement to existing initiatives. All of the central banks emphasized the need for stakeholder education and acceptance, both among consumers and service providers.　　Data privacy, and the related issues of money laundering and the financing of terrorism, were seen as top challenges. Servicing the vulnerable — children, the elderly and users with disabilities — was also named a priority.　　Some challenges, such as geographical isolation and levels of digitization, varied in degree among the central banks, but several CBDC design features were highlighted as key to financial inclusion across the spectrum. Promotion of a two-tiered payment system with private-sector participants, interoperability across a multiple

2022-04-13Deep Dive

Report: Coinbase is least risky crypto exchange to trade on

Market data aggregator CryptoCompare has named Coinbase the most transparent and accountable crypto exchange in the world, per the firms latest report that ranked 150 trading platforms.　　According to CryptoCompares researchers, the Brian Armstrong-led exchange is closely followed by crypto platforms such as Gemini, Binance, and Bitstamp.　　“/1 Today, we are delighted to release our #ExchangeBenchmark report. This bi-annual report combines over 80 quantitative and qualitative metrics to assign a grade (AA-F) to over 150 active spot #crypto exchanges.”　　— CryptoCompare (@CryptoCompare) April 11, 2022　　Notably, only these four exchanges received the AA rating, which means theyre the least risky crypto trading platforms to use. Further down the list, 11 more exchanges have received A ratings, 27 got BB ratings, and 37 have been ranked as B.　　The report went on to reveal that the top four exchanges arent only the safest but are also responsible for the majority of transactions within the sector. These platforms accounted for around 96% of all crypto trades that were made between September 2021 and February 2022, the researchers pointed out.　　At the same time, the total number of top-tier exchanges has dropped over the past months, the researchers noted, adding:　　“Due to stricter benchmark standards, only 78 exchanges met the

2022-04-13Deep Dive

Bitcoin spikes with stocks as US inflation hits highest since 1981

Bitcoin (BTC) saw a brief boost on April 12 after the United States saw its highest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data since 1981.Analyst: Inflation echoes “mythical stories”　　Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD spiking $400 instantly as the data was released.　　The U.S. CPI was up 8.5% year-on-year and rose 1.2% in March, alone, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.　　The most in over 40 years, the results showcased the inflationary pressures active throughout the economy and implied that the Federal Reserve had much ground to make up. Criticism of the Fed was everywhere, including from the likes of traditional economists such as Steve Hanke.　　“U.S. CPI came in at *8.5%* level, which means that inflation is likely already in the double digits,” Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital assets strategy at VanEck, responded. “A few years ago these type of numbers were mythical stories associated with Venezuela, Argentina, Zimbabwe and Weimar. Central banks have failed. Its time for plan ₿.”　　Bitcoins reaction was in line with correlated stock markets, the Ss relative strength index (RSI), now eyed as a potential pretext for a trend turnaround.　　Returning to a reading of 35 this week, RSI thus printed a pattern, which historically saw

2022-04-12Deep Dive

Bitcoin Dives Below $40K, Why BTC Could Recover In Short-Term

Bitcoin gained bearish momentum and even declined below $40,000 against the US Dollar. BTC could recover if it manages to climb above the $40,000 pivot level.　　Bitcoin remained in a bearish zone and extended decline below $40,000.　　The price is now trading below $40,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.　　There is a steep bearish trend line forming with resistance near $39,700 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).　　The pair could start a short-term recovery if there is a move above $40,000.Bitcoin Price Gains Bearish Pace　　Bitcoin price struggled to recover above the $43,500 level. BTC started another decline and traded below the $42,000 support level.　　The bears took control and pushed the price below the $41,000 level. There was also a clear move below the $40,000 support zone and a close below the 100 hourly simple moving average. The price traded as low as $39,240 and is currently consolidating losses.　　An immediate resistance on the upside is near the $39,700 level. There is also a steep bearish trend line forming with resistance near $39,700 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair.　　The first major resistance is forming near the $40,000 level. The next resistance could be near $40,200. It

2022-04-12Deep Dive

Uniswap Labs Forms Crypto Ventures Wing

The company behind Ethereum-based decentralized exchange Uniswap has launched a venture wing to invest in projects across Web 3, Uniswap Labs announced Monday.　　Strategy lead Matteo Leibowitz will run “Uniswap Labs Ventures,” alongside COO Mary-Catherine Lader, Leibowitz said in a tweet.　　Uniswap has previously invested in 11 crypto projects, including Aave, Compound Protocol and MakerDAO. The venture units focus will range “from infrastructure to developer tools and consumer-facing applications,” the blog post said.　　Uniswap Lab Ventures continues the trend of crypto companies investing in Web3 entities other than themselves. In November, stablecoin issuer Circle launched Circle Ventures Fund, and in January, crypto exchange FTX established FTX Ventures with a $2 billion fund.

2022-04-12Deep Dive

Meta Starts Building a Digital Economy for Creators in Horizon Worlds

Meta Platforms‘ digital economy got rolling Monday with new tools for hawking virtual goods in the social media giant’s virtual reality game, Horizon Worlds.　　A “handful” of creators will be able to sell “virtual items and effects” in their respective worlds, Meta said. Only Americans and Canadians above the age of 18 will be able to purchase those items.　　Meta separately said it would reward creators whose virtual worlds prove especially popular among users with monthly bonus payouts. That program will not be subject to fees; the virtual items marketplace could see Meta take anywhere from 25% to 70%, according to The Verge.　　The twin efforts showcase Metas early buildout of the infrastructure underpinning a digital economy. Yet more monetization and incentivization features are on the way, it promised.　　“These types of tools are steps toward our long-term vision for the metaverse where creators can earn a living and people can purchase digital goods, services, and experiences,” a Meta blog post read.　　“Clearly the ability to sell virtual goods and be able to take them with you from one world to another is going to be an important part” of the future metaverse, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video published alongside the reveal.　　That language

2022-04-12Deep Dive

Near Protocol To Launch its Own Stablecoin $USN on April 20th

Near Protocol (NEAR) is set to launch its own algorithmic stablecoin of USN on April 20th. The announcement was made by the founder of Zorax Capital, Zoran Kole, via a Substack blog post where he explained that the launch of the stablecoin will be ‘in partnership with other well-capitalized stablecoins’.　　Furthermore, the USN and these stablecoins ‘will offer an extremely attractive ~20% APR, which will ignite DeFi capital rotation into the Near ecosystem, siphoning the total value locked from other alternative layer-one protocols’.　　In the last few days, rumors of Near launching a stablecoin were rife in the crypto-verse, with one community member, @resdegen, noting that USN was already appearing on the Ref Finance testnet. The latter is the second-largest decentralized exchange on Near.USN Will Double NEAR‘s Market Cap　　According to Kole, the launch of $USN on the Near Protocol will most likely lead to an ecosystem similar to Terra (LUNA) and its UST stablecoin. He stated that Terra’s market cap is four times that of Near, and the launch of the USN stablecoin will catalyze an increment of Nears market cap by a minimum of 100%.　　He also added that Near Protocol (NEAR) will be listed on Coinbase ‘in the next couple of

2022-04-12Deep Dive

Fashion brand Zara launches first solo collection in the metaverse

Fast fashion brand Zara has launched a brand new collection called Lime Glam, designed to be worn both inside and outside the virtual world. The garments and accessories can be worn inside the Zepeto metaverse and are also available in physical stores.　　As wearables quickly become the latest fashion trend and steer their way into the minds of the fashion-conscious public, mainstream brands like Zara are keen to get involved.　　With metaverses like Decentraland, Somnium Space, Zilliqa, and others now providing a home for brands to cater to avatars, there are more wearables being designed with dual roles, one for your in real life (IRL) appearance and the other for your virtual self.　　So how can our avatars merge with our physical personalities？ The easiest way to showcase your personality in the metaverse is to choose the wearables that reflect your style.　　If a buyer opts for the physical version they will also get access to the digital version, streamlining the buying process. The dedicated section on the Zara website showcases avatars wearing the new Lime Glam collection, providing inspiration for those who wish to purchase any of the items.　　The Zepeto application also offers a photo booth, digital walls, and a floor for this

2022-04-12Deep Dive

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