Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Coinbase Blacklists Over 25,000 Crypto Addresses Tied to Russian Individuals and Entities

Coinbase Intends to Comply With International Sanctions, Chief Legal Officer Says ‘Digital Assets Have Properties That Naturally Deter Sanctions Evasion’　　Following the statements of the two chief executives from two of the largest crypto exchanges on the planet, Coinbase has published a blog post concerning the company‘s goals toward promoting sanction compliance. The post was written by Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal and it touched upon the current conflict in Ukraine. Essentially, the gist of the article highlights that “Coinbase is committed to complying with sanctions.”　　“In the past few weeks, governments around the world have imposed a range of sanctions on individuals and territories in response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine,” Grewal’s post details. “Sanctions play a vital role in promoting national security and deterring unlawful aggression, and Coinbase fully supports these efforts by government authorities. Sanctions are serious interventions, and governments are best placed to decide when, where, and how to apply them.”　　The Coinbase executive‘s post further explains that crypto assets have specific “properties that naturally deter common approaches to sanctions evasion.” This is due to the fact that most blockchains are public, auditable, and traceable. As far as traceability is concerned, Grewal says when applied to public blockchain

2022-03-08Deep Dive

Anchor Nips at Aave's Heels as Defi Protocol Becomes Second-Largest Lending Application

Anchor TVL Surges More Than 40% in 30 Days, Protocol‘s TVL Rivals Aave’s Lead　　The Terra-based token anchor protocol (ANC) has increased in value significantly against the U.S. dollar during the last month. At the time of writing, 14-day metrics show ANC has gained 82.7%, and 30-day stats indicate ANC is up 182.4%.　　Anchor is a lending protocol built with the Terra blockchain network, and it gathers liquidity from lenders and borrowers. Moreover, lenders depositing the stablecoin terrausd (UST) gather a stabilized yield at close to 20% APY.　　In order to gather yield, Anchor uses a liquid-staking mechanism. Anchor and Orion Money also offer Ethanchor, which allows depositors to gather yield on Ethereum-based stablecoins in contrast to Anchors UST functionality.　　Currently, Anchor is the sixth-largest defi application today, out of all the defi applications in existence according to defillama.com metrics. Anchor‘s TVL has increased 5.55% over the last week, but monthly statistics indicate the protocol’s TVL jumped 40.13% since last month. Much of Anchors TVL increase to $11.5 billion occurred during the last 30 days.　　In terms of the 124 lending applications, Anchor is now the second-largest defi lending protocol under Aave. The lending protocol Aave is just a hair above Anchor as Aave currently

2022-03-08Deep Dive

Biden Will Sign Executive Order on Crypto This Week: Report

President Joe Biden will sign an executive order this week to task federal agencies with assessing the risks and opportunities that Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies bring to the U.S. and outline the government‘s strategy for the market’s regulation, reported Bloomberg.　　The order will direct federal agencies to examine potential regulatory changes and the national security and economic impact of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, people familiar with the administrations plans told Bloomberg.　　“The executive order, which has been in the works since last year, will require federal agencies across the government to report later this year what theyre doing regarding digital tokens,” per the report. “The plan is expected to begin carving out roles for agencies across the government, from the State Department to the Commerce Department.”　　Regulatory efforts would also involve the Treasury Department, National Economic Council, Council of Economic Advisers, and the White House National Security Council.　　Bitcoin has risen to the spotlight since the U.S. and its allies began imposing restrictions on Russia in a push to isolate the countrys economy and suppress its abilities to continue marching forward in its Ukraine invasion. Despite being a tangible alternative to Russian citizens who may now find themselves unable to send and receive money freely, Bitcoin

2022-03-08Deep Dive

Coinbase Blocks 25K Russian Addresses Supposedly Related to Illicit Activity

The leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has decided to block access to more than 25,000 addresses related to Russian individuals who are supposedly engaging in illegal activities.　　Coinbase Blocks 25K Russian Addresses　　According to an official blog post from today – March 7th, 2022 – the leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase, has blocked “over 25,000 addresses related to Russian individuals or entities we believe to be engaging in illicit activity, many of which we have identified through our own protective investigations.”　　Further, the company has shared these addresses with the US government to “support sanctions enforcement.”　　The post once again reiterated that the exchange is “committed to complying with sanctions.”　　“During onboarding, Coinbase checks account applications against lists of sanctioned individuals or entities, including those maintained by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, United Nations, Singapore, Canada, and Japan.”　　In any case, the move comes just days after Coinbase CEO said they will comply with the sanctions against Russia.　　Crypto to Avoid Sanctions？　　Many have brought up the question if cryptocurrencies can be used to avoid the sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.　　Brian Armstrong, CEO at Coinbase, said that he doesn‘t think there’s a high chance of that.　　“That being said, we don‘t think there’s

2022-03-08Deep Dive

Binance, Coinbase Explain Why Cryptocurrency Won't Help Russia Evade Sanctions

CEOs of Binance and Coinbase Say Crypto Not Useful at Evading Sanctions　　Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, governments worldwide have raised concerns that cryptocurrency could be used to circumvent sanctions placed by Western nations.　　The CEOs of two leading cryptocurrency exchanges have shared their thoughts on whether crypto can be an effective tool to circumvent sanctions. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) was quoted by the Guardian as saying:　　Currently, the media and politicians are spending a lot of effort and focus on crypto and sanctions. The truth is, crypto is too small for Russia.　　“If we look at the crypto adoption today, there is probably about 3% of the global population with some kind of crypto exposure (ie, owning some crypto),” Zhao continued. “Of those, most only have a small percentage of their net worth in crypto. Less than 10% on average. So, there is probably only less than 0.3% of the global net worth in crypto today. This percentage applies equally to Russia.”　　The Binance boss added:　　Another reason Russia would not want to use crypto is that it is too traceable. And governments around the world are already very adept at tracking it.　　Furthermore, Zhao said using privacy-focused cryptocurrencies, such as monero, would

2022-03-07Deep Dive

Centralised finance cripples Russia as Visa and Mastercard withdraw from country

Mastercard and Visa have announced that they will no longer operate inside Russia. With Russia already cut off from the SWIFT network and PayPal, the impact of exclusive reliance on centralised financial services is increasingly evident.　　Guy from Coin Bureau noted on Twitter:　　“Now that Visa if your country waged an unjust war, would you expect to be shut off from PayPal, online banking and your debit or credit cards？ How would you feed your family？Decentralised payment services　　Web3 offers many potential payment solutions through decentralisation. These solutions can allow ordinary civilians to have autonomy over their wealth. Companies such as Block (formerly Square) are attempting to lead the way in decentralised payment solutions. In November, they announced a decentralised exchange, tbDEX, with further integration into other Block apps such as CashApp to come.　　We are still a ways away from cryptocurrency being a mainstream method of paying for goods and services. However, many civilians affected by conflict will be reading up on crypto in the coming months as they seek ways to transact free from centralised control.　　There is a flip side to this argument; if Russia had a fully decentralised payment system in place, then the rest of the world may struggle to

2022-03-07Deep Dive

How Will Blockchain Change Digital Marketing?

The utility of blockchain in the digital world is increasing. Despite being new in this digital era, it is rapidly growing in popularity as one of the most efficient ways to store digital information and not have to worry about any unlawful access from hackers. This rapid distribution technique removes third-party sources to allow immediate transactions between two parties.　　Blockchain is being used in every possible aspect of technology for digital businesses. It is being seen as a real solution to some of todays marketing problems. Marketing experts say that “Blockchain is creating new ways of doing business across industries, particularly where greater trust and transparency is required.”　　What Is Blockchain？　　To put it simply, blockchain is a distributed ledger, a system where data and information can be recorded. It is impossible to change or hack the information stored in blockchain, which makes it so efficient in this digital age where we are bombarded with hackers and their shameful attempts to access our private information.　　Blockchain can be used to compile sales and payment data as well. Every cryptocurrency transaction can be found on the blockchain.　　How Will Blockchain Change Digital Marketing？　　Blockchain will revolutionize digital marketing as it gives customers a better sense of ownership.

2022-03-07Deep Dive

Global Commodities Skyrocket, Ounce of Gold Nears $2K, Musk Says ‘There’s a Need to Increase Oil and

Metal and Oil Markets Rip Higher, Elon Musk Insists ‘Extraordinary Times Demand Extraordinary Measures’　　On Friday, stock markets tumbled as Nasdaq, NYSE, S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day in red. The conflict in Ukraine continues to shake investors that dont know how to cope with a wartime market.　　Moreover, after cryptocurrency markets did well last week, the end of this week turned out to be a different story, as the global market valuation of the entire crypto-economy slipped below the $2 trillion mark. At the time of writing on Saturday, March 5, the crypto economy is hovering just above $1.85 trillion in USD value.　　Gold, on the other hand, is up 1.76% per ounce of .999 fine gold during the last 24 hours, and one ounce of .999 fine silver is up 2.37% today. The precious metal gold has done well amid the conflict in Ukraine, and during the last 30 days, an ounce of gold has jumped 7.25% in USD value. On March 4, the economist and gold bug Peter Schiff tweeted about gold jumping in value along with oil prices.　　“Today both gold and oil are at record highs priced in euros,” Schiff said. “For years the

2022-03-07Deep Dive

Pushing Russia out of crypto: Singapore, Switzerland and Japan will join in the sanctions

Ukraines call on banning Russians from the crypto market was rejected by crypto exchange giants like Binance and Coinbase unless law required it.　　Even though there are no official decrees forcing exchange platforms to ban Russian IPs, many didn‘t need one. However, following the U.S.’s official step to enhance sanctions on Russia, five local South Korean exchanges announced yesterday that they are banning Russian IPs and freezing their accounts.　　These five exchanges were the only licensed ones to issue crypto to fiat transactions. Therefore, this united ban prevented Russian users from cashing out their crypto assets within South Korea.　　Singapore and Switzerland announce sanctions　　Today, Singapore made an unexpected announcement and implemented sanctions against the Russian Central Bank, their cryptocurrency transactions, and an export ban on military and electronics.　　Given Singapore‘s financial importance for the region, this decision is expected to affect Russia significantly. Also, due to the same importance, Singapore hadn’t imposed sanctions on any nation in decades. This rare decision made Singapore the first Southeast Asian country to impose sanctions on Russia.　　Following Singapore and South Korea‘s lead, Switzerland also announced that they’d freeze crypto assets that belong to Russian users. A senior official from the finance ministry said:　　“Freezing crypto assets is necessary because

2022-03-07Deep Dive

Ukraine Crypto Donations: Government Now Accepts Over 70 Crypto Assets

Calls for Widening List of Accepted Crypto Donations　　Lithuania-based crypto payment processor Coingate recently said it has begun an arrangement with the Ukrainian central bank that has seen the number of crypto assets well-wishers can donate to the countrys armed forces rise from just four to more than 70.　　This widening of the list of accepted crypto assets comes just a few days after the Ukrainian government acceded to Polkadot creator Gavin Woods pleas to have DOT added to the list of cryptos accepted for donations. As reported by Bitcoin.com News, shortly after the Ukrainian government said it would accept polkadot donations, Wood immediately honored his pledge and donated DOT coins worth over $5 million.　　Consequently, the Ukrainian governments decision to accept DOT and three other cryptocurrencies prompted more players in the crypto space, including Tron founder Justin Sun, to similarly plead with the Ukrainian government.Real-Time Conversion From Crypto to Fiat　　In his remarks following the announcement, Coingate‘s co-founder, Dmitrijus Borisenka denounced the conflict which he says “is disturbing the freedom of Ukraine and its people.” The crypto payment processor’s head of product, Sarunas Matulevicius, said:　　“We do what we do best. We have a platform that is able to process 70+ different cryptos with

2022-03-07Deep Dive

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