Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bandai Namco to Invest $130 Million in Building Its Own IP Metaverse

Bandai Namco Seeks to Boost Engagement With Metaverse Project　　Bandai Namco, one of the leading Japanese game development and publishing companies, is creating its own metaverse. The company announced the resolution in a document outlining its mid-term plan, which details the strategy the group will follow from April 2022 to March 2025. In the document, issued February 8, the company explains that this new metaverse will be part of its “IP Axis” strategy, to boost the engagement of fans with its franchises. The plan states:　　In this IP metaverse, we are anticipating virtual spaces that will enable customers to enjoy a wide range of entertainment on an IP axis, as well as frameworks that leverage Bandai Namcos distinctive strengths to fuse physical products and venues with digital elements.　　For this purpose, Bandai Namco announced it expects to spend 15 billion yen ($130 million) for the establishment of the data foundation and the development of the content for this intellectual property (IP) metaverse.Metaverse as Business Strategy　　Bandai Namco refers to this metaverse pivot as a very important part of the future of the company, citing the metaverse concept as one of the main strategies of its digital business plan. Other Japanese companies in the field

2022-02-13Deep Dive

Intel to Develop Crypto Mining Accelerators, Claims Circuits Will Deliver '1000x Better Performance

Intel to Engage in Blockchain Technology　　On Friday, the senior vice president of Intel‘s Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics Group, Raja M. Koduri, published a blog post that discussed blockchain technology and the “new custom compute group.” Koduri explained that Intel is fully aware that there are some blockchains that “translates to an immense amount of energy.” The Intel executive said that the company’s customers are asking for “scalable and sustainable solutions.”　　“Intel will engage and promote an open and secure blockchain ecosystem and will help advance this technology in a responsible and sustainable way,” Koduris blog post explains.　　Intel‘s Koduri further added that the company’s first product will ship later in 2022. The first firms that will receive Intel‘s blockchain accelerator include Jack Dorsey’s Block (formerly Square), Argo Blockchain, and Griid. Koduri remarked that Intel Labs has been focused on “reliable cryptography, hashing techniques and ultra-low voltage circuits” for decades. The Intel executive expects the companys accelerator to have better performance per watt.　　“We expect that our circuit innovations will deliver a blockchain accelerator that has over 1000x better performance per watt than mainstream GPUs for SHA256 based mining,” Koduris blog post insists.　　In order to bolster these concepts, Intel has formed a new

2022-02-13Deep Dive

Billionaire Bill Miller Has 'Very Big' Bitcoin Position — Calls BTC 'Insurance Against Financial Cat

Bill Miller Says ‘Bitcoin Is Insurance Against Financial Catastrophe’　　Famed value investor Bill Miller talked about bitcoin in an interview with CNBC Wednesday. He is the founder of Miller Value Partners and currently serves as its chairman and chief investment officer. He manages the firms Opportunity Equity and Income Strategy funds. Prior to Miller Value Partners, he co-founded Legg Mason Capital Management.　　Referring to bitcoin, Miller described, “It‘s like an insurance policy.” He elaborated: “Insurance policies have no intrinsic value. In fact, you want them to have no intrinsic value. You don’t want to have your house burned down or get in a terrible accident but you pay for insurance every year in case that happens.” Miller continued:　　Bitcoin is insurance against financial catastrophe as we see in Lebanon, or in Afghanistan, or many of these other countries where we saw around the time of the pandemic.　　Miller also clarified what he said in January about bitcoin being half of his net worth, noting that many media reports misinterpreted what he said. Miller explained that he only put a few percent of his net worth into bitcoin which then grew to become half of his total fortune as the price of the cryptocurrency soared.

2022-02-13Deep Dive

JPMorgan Predicts Long-Term Bitcoin Price of $150K — Outlines Challenges Ahead

JPMorgans Bitcoin Price Prediction　　Global investment bank JPMorgan has revealed its prediction for the long-term price of bitcoin as well as the cryptocurrencys fair value.　　JPMorgan Chase & Co.s strategists, led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, wrote in a research note published Tuesday that their long-term theoretical target for bitcoin is $150K, up from $146K predicted last year.　　At this level, bitcoins total market value would be on par with that of all gold held privately for investment purposes, they explained.　　The analysts clarified that bitcoins “fair value” is around $38K, up from $35K estimated last year.　　They calculated the coins fair value based on bitcoin being roughly four times as volatile as gold, adding that if the volatility differential narrows to three times, then the fair value of BTC would rise to $50K.　　The JPMorgan strategists wrote:　　The biggest challenge for bitcoin going forward is its volatility and the boom and bust cycles that hinder further institutional adoption.　　At the time of writing, the price of bitcoin is $43,855 based on data from Bitcoin.com Markets. BTC is up almost 19% over the past seven days and almost 5% in the last 30 days.　　Meanwhile, a JPMorgan client survey shows that the majority of respondents expect bitcoins price to reach $60K

2022-02-11Deep Dive

Fintech Specialists Predict Ethereum Price Hitting $6,500 This Year Before Rising to $26,338 by 2030

Fintech Specialists Share Ether Forecasts　　Price comparison portal Finder updated its price predictions for ether (ETH) Tuesday. The company detailed:　　Ethereum (ETH) will jump to US$6,500 by the end of 2022, according to Finder.coms panel of fintech specialists.　　In addition, “Ethereum is expected to hit $10,810 by 2025 before more than doubling to $26,338 by 2030, according to the average of the panels forecasts.”　　The company explained that the panel of 33 fintech specialists was surveyed from Jan. 6 to Jan. 17 this year, adding that of the 33 panel members, 26 gave their ETH price predictions.　　The fintech specialists are more bearish in their ETH price predictions than they were in October last year.　　At that time, the panel predicted that the price of ether would hit $5,144 per coin at the end of 2021. It would then rise to $15,364 by the end of 2025 and $50,788 by 2030.　　Commenting on the differences in price predictions this year and October last year, Finder wrote:　　The panels prediction of the value ethereum may reach by 2030 has been dialed back significantly. The positive outlook for price growth in the cryptocurrency market was heavily affected by increasingly tightening international regulations and tumbling current values in early 2022.　　At the

2022-02-11Deep Dive

UK Parliament member M. Hancock ‘would consider’ investing in Bitcoin owing to its ‘potential’

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of discussion in the United Kingdom on the potential economic benefits of Brexit.　　However, there is one area of the economy that hasn‘t received much attention until now: cryptocurrency. British politician Matt Hancock told The Express that Brexit provides the United Kingdom with the chance to establish a “dynamic” regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies rather than being compelled to adopt the EU’s “restrictive” structure.　　The Member of Parliament also believes that the technology might open up new opportunities for the United Kingdom. When Hancock was explicitly asked whether crypto may play a role in a post-Brexit economy, he responded affirmatively: 　　“Yes. We now don‘t have to just take the EU’s restrictive regulatory regime and instead can design our own that is more dynamic.”　　Questioned on whether he has invested in Bitcoin himself, Mr. Hancock said: “I haven‘t yet, but I’d consider it,” he added: 　　“Clearly cryptocurrencies are an investment for some, and the underlying technology has lots of potential, for example in helping make payments, and in smart contracts that have transparency built-in.”Regulation needed in crypto 　　Cryptocurrency advocates claim that it can help democratize the economy by establishing an open market. 　　Aside from this, they think

2022-02-11Deep Dive

Over 5,000 ‘Bitcoiners’ contribute to Canadian truckers as donations approach $1 million

Over 5,000 contributors have raised money for the Canadian truckers protesting COVID-19 restrictions via Bitcoin (BTC) following GoFundMes decision not to distribute the remaining $9 million to the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign.　　Indeed, as of Friday, February 11, 5,061 donors have given Bitcoin for the truckers on Tallycoin, with a total of over 21 BTC gathered worth roughly $925,340 at the time of publication, as the amount of contributions closes in on $1 million.　　Bitcoin for Canadian truckers. Source: Tallycoin　　The campaign is able to receive all Bitcoins directly into crypto wallets in which they keep custody of the keys since they are using Tallycoin to facilitate the process.　　Whatsmore, Tallycoin, in contrast to GoFundMe, does not have the ability to withhold any of the funds that have been raised. While also allowing Bitcoin contributions to be made both on-chain and across the Lightning Network, resulting in greater efficiency overall.Why the truckers are receiving donations in Bitcoin　　Campaigners turned to Bitcoin after the suspension of a GoFundMe fundraiser, in which more than $9 million in contributions had already been received for the campaign. 　　Shortly after the suspension, GoFundMe revealed it would not distribute the $9 million to the Freedom Convoy 2022 campaign as, apparently, it

2022-02-11Deep Dive

Luxury Auction House Sotheby's Plans to Auction 104 Cryptopunks Worth an Estimated $20M

Sotheby‘s ’Punk It!‘ Auction to Sell 104 Cryptopunks　　The luxury auction house Sotheby’s plans to auction 104 Cryptopunks on February 23, according to an announcement from the company‘s official Twitter account. “Cryptopunks get the Sotheby’s treatment,” the company tweeted. “Our next Sotheby‘s Metaverse sale ’Punk It! 104 Cryptopunks. 1 Lot. will be a landmark LIVE Evening Auction on February 23. A truly historic sale for an undeniably historic NFT project.”　　The lot of 104 Cryptopunks was originally purchased in July 2021 for $7 million in a single Ethereum block. According to reports at the time, the buyer purchased the 104 NFTs by paying the miner a bribe of five ethereum (ETH), and the acquisition bumped up the floor price for the entire collection of 10,000 Cryptopunks.　　The individual who purchased the 104 Cryptopunks discussed the acquisition in a Twitter thread during the first week of August 2021. The buyer dubbed “0x650d” explained it was kind of like buying bitcoin (BTC) below $10 per unit. “Youre wishing you could go back in time and buy Bitcoin below $10, back when you thought it was a fad or there would be dozens of coins like it,” 0x650d said. The NFT collector added:　　But you can‘t. And

2022-02-11Deep Dive

Internet Guru Tim O’Reilly: Crypto and Web 3 are Bubble

Web 3 is being dubbed as the next threshold in the evolution of the internet. Businesses and big entities like Apple, Facebook Meta, Microsoft are all jumping in the Web 3 melee, fearing being left behind in the race. Some NFT companies are already valued in billions. However, is this real, or is the bubble going to burst in the future？ Tech luminary Tim OReilly feels that it will crash, and we must be ready.　　CBS MoneyWatch spoke with tech luminary Tim O‘Reilly, better known for publishing the world’s first website and coining the term Web 2.0. Tim feels that Web 3 has a promising future but is still a long way from fruition. Tim also added that it is hard to convince somebody of a thing when the commercial benefits depend upon believing in it.　　OReilly feels that cryptocurrency, NFTs, and the metaverse, are all valued very highly and reeks of dot-com boom and bust in the breathless boosterism around Blockchain.　　Tim cautions and says that the bust is inevitable　　Tim reminiscences of FTP and Telenet before the web was introduced. Unfortunately, it was highly overvalued, and when the web arrived, it went bust. Nevertheless, the web opened possibilities never thought of before,

2022-02-11Deep Dive

Binance Invests $200 Million Into the Business Magazine and Digital Publisher Forbes

Reports indicate that the worlds largest cryptocurrency exchange by trade volume, Binance, has announced the crypto company has committed to investing $200 million into the American business magazine Forbes. The digital currency company Binance confirmed the $200 million stake into Forbes on the social media platform Twitter.　　Binance Pledges $200 Million to Forbes　　Binance has made a $200 million investment into Forbes, the U.S.-based business magazine and digital publisher owned by the Forbes family and Integrated Whale Media Investments. A report published by CNBC, and shared by Binance on Twitter, explains that the investment “is the first step into a marketplace that has really high potential when it comes to adoption of Web 3.0 based tools” Forbes has plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) deal with Magnum Opus.　　“Binance‘s strategic investment will be through Binance’s assumption of subscription agreements representing $200 million of commitments in the $400 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) that was previously announced along with Forbes intention to go public via a business combination with Magnum Opus,” Forbes detailed on Thursday. The American business magazine and digital publisher added:“The transactions with Magnum Opus and Binance are expected to help Forbes maximize its brand

2022-02-11Deep Dive

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