Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

From April you can mine BTC, HNT and MXC from a 4W handheld device

A couple of days ago, we published an article on Planetwatch. In it, I toyed with the idea of a crypto mining super box that could mine different cryptocurrencies. Well, a few hours after it went live, I received an email from a reader informing me that there was indeed such a device.　　It is called the Match X M2 Pro and costs a whopping $2,900. Initially, I was skeptical. The email was from a total stranger on the internet who was, for all intents and purposes, shilling a token in which he had invested. However, after I dug a little deeper, I found something to be explored.Proof of Participation　　The description of the miner states that it uses a “Proof of Participation” model for mining;　　Proof of Participation (POP) model, M2 Pro offers a new type of mining in which the amount of tokens mined is determined by the value of the miners participation in the network itself.　　With POP mining, as opposed to the more common POS or POW, a miner proves his participation in the network by mining “data blocks,” which use next to no power. In fact, the power consumption for the M2 Pro is minuscule, 4-6W. It looks very

2022-03-31Deep Dive

Billionaire Mike Novogratz Says 'People Have Realized Crypto Is Really Popular'

Mike Novogratz Expects Lawmakers to Take a Softer Stance on Crypto　　Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz talked about why he is more optimistic about the crypto market now than he was six or seven weeks ago in an interview with CNBC Tuesday. The executive explained:　　Maybe what I got wrong was with all this selling in fixed income that money has got to go somewhere.　　The billionaire predicted earlier this month when BTC was struggling to break the $40,000 level that bitcoins price would range between $30,000 and $50,000 throughout the year. At the time of writing, bitcoin is trading at $47,327 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets.　　Novogratz continued, “We certainly see increased adoption in crypto,” adding:　　I mean Janet Yellen pivoted and was much more friendly to crypto than shes ever been.　　Last week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen admitted that crypto has benefits. “Crypto has obviously grown by leaps and bounds and its now playing a significant role, not really so much in transactions, but in investment decisions of lots of Americans,” she said. “There are benefits from crypto and we recognize that the innovation in the payment system can be a healthy thing.”　　“Thats basically politicians listening to their constituents and getting to the

2022-03-31Deep Dive

UK’s FCA Extends Crypto Registration Deadline For 12 Firms

UKs Financial Conduct Authority reportedly granted about a dozen crypto firms more time to apply for a permanent license in the country. The move comes just a day before the expiration of the temporary licenses held by the firms.　　Firms included in the extension are digital bank Revolut, and crypto brokerage services provider Copper Technologies. The companies will be granted additional time to file their applications if they can prove they require it. Currently, the shortlisted firms only have temporary permission to operate in the UK.　　The firms shortlisted for an extension can provide the FCA with more details on the applications, or appeal against the regulators decision.　　 FCA approves a limited number of firms　　Over a hundred companies had sought temporary approval to operate while the FCA processed their applications. Now, only 12 firms remain, Bloomberg reports.　　The FCA has so far approved 33 firms for permanent registration in the UK, ie, they will be allowed to operate even after the March 31 deadline. The regulators tough stance on crypto firms has seen several major players wind down operations in the country over the regulatory uncertainty.　　Most multinational crypto exchanges choose to operate in the country by keeping their trading overseas and beyond the

2022-03-31Deep Dive

Top Crypto Analyst Predicts Bullish Continuations for Bitcoin (BTC) and Three Low-Cap Altcoins

A popular crypto trader thinks its likely that Bitcoin (BTC) will continue its bullish momentum all the way to $50,000.　　Pseudonymous analyst Credible tells his 319,000 Twitter followers that BTC has already broken through the highs of its “B wave” or the first upthrust of a triangle structure.　　“Weve broken the highs of our B wave, indicating that the triangle likely already completed earlier. Areas of interest are the same (green regions) if we get any dips, but as stated in my last video update at this point we may just shoot up straight to $50,000+”　　He adds that he doesnt anticipate any big corrections in the short-term future.　　BTC is trading at $47,196.69 at time of writing and is up nearly 15% from where it was priced one week ago.　　Credible is also bullish on Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR), a public network for peer-to-peer payments.　　“HBAR looking real perky. Clear RED on the weekly for confirmation that our bottom is in – the same level I have been talking about for months. Ive said before that I thought the bottom was in and that we just needed confirmation – closing above RED (weekly) confirms this in my opinion.”　　HBAR is trading at $0.23 at time of writing.　　Additionally,

2022-03-30Deep Dive

Over Half of Americans Think Crypto Assets Are the Future of Finance

A new national survey in the US finds that the majority of Americans believe crypto will go on to revolutionize finance.　　The new poll was commissioned by StarkWare, a blockchain infrastructure firm doing research for their future products.　　According to StarkWare CEO and co-founder Uri Kolodny,　　The results are exciting, but also unsettling.　　They highlight huge enthusiasm for crypto, and show that blockchain is creaking under the weight of current use. Unless we start to work smarter, blockchain simply wont be able to cope with growing demand.　　The poll found that crypto use among Americans is already widespread, particularly among young adults.　　Fifty-three percent of all respondents agreed that cryptocurrency is the “future of finance” with 68% of 25 to 34-year-olds and 61% of 35 to 44-year-olds subscribing to this view.　　The poll also finds that 17% of Americans already own crypto in one form or another. That number is even higher among 25 to 34-year-olds, 28% of whom say they own crypto.　　The data found that environmental concerns are the number one drawback to crypto in most Americans‘ minds. Thirty-four percent of all respondents said reducing crypto’s carbon footprint is important to them – but that number jumps to 49% among 25 to 34-year-olds.　　Says Kolodny of the

2022-03-30Deep Dive

Visa Program to Help Creatives Build Their Businesses With NFTs

Payments giant Visa (V) unveiled a Creator Program where selected small business owners in fields like music, fashion and film will be supported in expanding their operations through the use of non-fungible tokens (NFT).　　“NFTs have the potential to become a powerful accelerator for the creator economy,” Cuy Sheffield, Visas head of crypto, said in a statement. “Through the Visa Creator Program, we want to help this new breed of small and micro businesses tap into new mediums for digital commerce.”　　According to Visa, the Creator Program is a one-year immersion into the world of NFTs, with support focused in technical and product mentorship, community building, access to thought leaders, exposure to Visa clients and partners, and a one-time stipend.　　The so-called creator economy has an estimated market size of over $100 billion, according to Visa, citing data from Influencer Marketing Hub.　　One of the first Creator Program participants is former Major League Baseball second baseman Micah Johnson, who launched his NFT character Aku last year.　　The news comes a week after the companys crypto product lead left for a new opportunity in Web 3 payments.

2022-03-30Deep Dive

Axie Infinity Loses $620 Million After Hacker Compromised Ronin Validators

The Largest NFT Blockchain Game Axie Infinity Suffers From a $620 Million Hack　　The largest non-fungible token (NFT) blockchain game, Axie Infinity, has suffered from an attack on Tuesday after the Ronin network validators were compromised. Sky Mavis, the company behind the Axie Infinity project, explained that the validators were compromised as early as March 23.　　The funds were drained in two transactions (transaction 1 and transaction 2) and Sky Mavis discovered the attack after a user complained that they could not withdraw 5,000 ether from the Ronin bridge.　　“The attacker used hacked private keys in order to forge fake withdrawals,” Sky Maviss post mortem statement discloses. While the Ronin bridge and Katana Dex has been halted, Sky Mavis also said: “We are working with law enforcement officials, forensic cryptographers, and our investors to make sure all funds are recovered or reimbursed. All of the AXS, RON, and SLP on Ronin are safe right now.”　　The team further explained that the project uses nine validator nodes to run Ronin, and in order to deposit or withdraw, five out of nine are needed to process a transaction.　　“The attacker managed to get control over Sky Maviss four Ronin Validators and a third-party validator run by Axie

2022-03-30Deep Dive

Robert Kiyosaki Warns US Dollar 'About to Implode' — Advises Buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana

Robert Kiyosaki Foresees Dollar Imploding, Blames Biden for Inflation　　The author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki, is back with more warnings about the imminent collapse of the U.S. dollar. He also suggested investors buy some cryptocurrencies, naming three in particular: bitcoin, ether, and solana.　　Rich Dad Poor Dad is a 1997 book co-authored by Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. It has been on the New York Times Best Seller List for over six years. More than 32 million copies of the book have been sold in over 51 languages across more than 109 countries.　　Kiyosaki tweeted Monday warning that the world is in trouble. “National debt to go through the roof,” he wrote, emphasizing that the dollar is “about to implode.” The famous author insisted that President Joe Biden is causing inflation. He then suggested that investors buy more gold, silver, bitcoin, ethereum, and solana before the third world war breaks out.　　Kiyosaki has repeatedly warned about the end of the U.S. dollar. He also recently said that we are in the biggest bubble in world history.Kiyosaki Recommends Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana　　While Kiyosaki has recommended bitcoin (BTC) many times in the past, and ethereum (ETH) occasionally, he has not recommended solana (SOL) until

2022-03-30Deep Dive

ECASH: U.S. Politicians Propose Bill for a Non-Blockchain-Based Digital Dollar

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives including Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass), Rep. Jesus G. Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Rashida Tlaib (D.Mich.), and others, have on March 28, 2022, introduced the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act. The proposal is aimed at authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to develop a non-blockchain-based digital dollar that would support privacy and anonymity just like the fiat dollar.　　U.S Lawmakers Introduce the E-CASH Act　　Barely one month after president Joe Bidens administration released an executive order mandating federal agencies and the Federal Reserve to conduct more research on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and release a report discussing the pros and cons of a digital dollar within the next 180 days, U.S. lawmakers have floated the Electronic Currency and Secure Hardware (ECASH) Act.　　The E-CASH Act was proposed by Rep. Stephen Lynch, Chair of the House Committee on Financial Services Task Force on Financial Technology, and is co-sponsored by Rep. Jesus G. Chuy Garcia, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Alma Adams.　　The E-CASH Act, which has already been endorsed by several U.S. organizations including Americans for Financial Reform, Demand Progress, the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE), and Public Money Action, directs the Secretary of

2022-03-30Deep Dive

Vietnamese Government and Central Bank Developing Legal Framework for Crypto

Vietnam is creating a legal framework for cryptocurrency. The countrys deputy prime minister has instructed the Ministries of Finance, Justice, and Information & Communications to work with the central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam, on the framework.　　Vietnam Creating Legal Framework for Crypto　　Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai reportedly notified three ministries last week instructing them to work with the central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam, and other relevant bodies to build a legal framework for cryptocurrencies. The three ministries are Finance, Justice, and Information & Communications.　　The deputy prime minister has tasked the Ministry of Finance with the prime responsibility of reaching an agreement with other regulatory bodies and the central bank to identify specific pieces of legislation that need to be amended, supplemented, and promulgated as well as recommending a specific time frame for implementation.　　The legal framework for crypto will be created according to the details laid out in Decision 1255, issued by the Vietnamese prime minister on Aug. 21, 2017. Decision 1255 approves a plan to develop a legal framework for the management and handling of “virtual assets, digital currencies, and virtual currencies.”　　A few proposals to regulate crypto were put forward in November 2018 but no

2022-03-30Deep Dive

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