Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

South Korean Crypto Exchanges See Rise in Complaints, More People Turn to Home Mining

There was a x7.7 spike in the number of customer complaints lodged against South Koreas four biggest crypto exchanges last year as citizens in the nation are embracing crypto like never before. Meanwhile, crypto mining is also on the rise.　　Yonhap reported that the data on complaints was submitted by the Korea Consumer Agency to the offices of the MP Lee Joo-hwan of the opposition Peoples Strength Party.　　The data shows that a total of 232 formal consumer complaints were lodged to the agency last year from customers of the four exchanges – Upbit, Coinone, Korbit and Bithumb.　　That number is a massive rise from just 24 cases in 2019 and 30 cases in 2020. Most of the complaints were lodged against Coinone (130 cases), followed by Upbit with 74 cases, Bithumb with 17 cases and Korbit with 11 cases.　　Lee, a part of the National Assemblys Committee on Small and Medium Ventures, was quoted as complaining:　　“Even though crypto-related consumer damage is increasing every year, there is virtually no protection provided for [crypto] users.”　　However, the rise in complaints may have something to do with the fact that the four trading platforms user bases ballooned last year. By the end of 2021, a combined 12.02m

2022-02-04Deep Dive

The dark side of the NFT market

As new and exciting use cases for NFTs emerged, so did their potential for abuse, revealed a recent report by Chainalysis.　　The blockchain research and analysis company investigated two forms of illicit activity in the NFT market–wash trading and money laundering–uncovering worrying stats.Wash traders collectively made $8.9 million in profit　　Wash trading implies fictitious sales in which the seller is on both sides of the transaction–a practice intended to deceive the market, aka potential buyers, into believing there is a high demand for the asset–inflating its price.　　NFT wash traders are making their digital collectibles appear more valuable by selling them to new wallets, which they finance themselves.　　As Chainalysis pointed out, most NFT trading platforms allow users to trade by simply connecting their wallet, without additional identification needed, which greatly facilitates this form of abuse.　　The report dove into NFT sales to self-financed addresses and uncovered that some NFT sellers have executed hundreds of wash trades.　　NFT sellers by number of sales to self-financed addresses in 2021 (Chainalysis)　　NFT wash trading can be tracked by analyzing sales of NFTs to addresses that were self-financed–meaning funded by the selling address or by the address that funded the selling address. 　　Reactor showing that address 0x828 sent 0.45 Ethereum

2022-02-04Deep Dive

Despite market crash, investors keep flocking to crypto startups

While the crypto market started the year poorly, with the industry losing over $300 billion of its value due to the fall in the price of Bitcoin and other assets to new lows, investors have continued to flock to startups in the space.Crypto startups enjoy continued funding despite the market crash　　According to a CNBC report, several privately-held crypto firms saw their valuation rise exponentially during the crypto market crash.　　For example, FTX, a fast-rising crypto exchange, saw its valuation rise to $32 billion while its US arm rose to $8 billion after the duo raised $800 million from investors in January.　　Another crypto firm that raised substantial funds from investors in January was Fireblocks, a crypto infrastructure startup. Fireblocks raised over $500 million in January, and its valuation is now around $8 billion. Blockdaemon, a rival to Fireblock, raised $155 million, and its valuation is now $1.3 billion.　　Interestingly, Crypto and blockchain-related startups cumulatively raised around $25 billion in 2021 as venture capitalists and investors alike looked to leverage the rising popularity and adoption of the space by the public.　　However, with the value of assets falling sharply to new lows, investors appear to remain drawn to the industry, as can be seen with

2022-02-04Deep Dive

Jack Dorsey tells Mark Zuckerberg he should have built around Bitcoin

Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Block Inc, formerly Square Inc, tells Mark Zuckerberg he should have focussed his efforts on Bitcoin instead.　　Dorsey was referring to Zuckerbergs failed Diem project, which finally threw the towel in after U.S regulators refused approval.　　Diems assets were sold to Silvergate Bank earlier this week, marking the end of the project. Silvergate said it plans to utilize the technology and workforce to launch its own stablecoin offering later this year.　　Speaking at the MicroStrategy World Conference, Dorsey said Diem was a waste of time and effort. And according to the former Twitter boss, it was all down to one key aspect.Diem crashes and burns　　Affiliation with Facebook meant the beleaguered Diem project was off to a poor start from the beginning.　　Interest from partners was initially buoyant, with household names including Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, and PayPal signing up for a piece of the action. But things soon turned sour as lawmakers and regulators voiced their concerns.　　In most cases, the dominant concerns centered around Facebook leveraging its already considerable influence on global financial markets. And based on the companys track record with data privacy, this was a step too far for authorities.　　After a hearing on the matter, senators banded together

2022-02-04Deep Dive

Zuckerberg Loses Almost $30 Billion In A Day, One Of The Largest Wealth Drops Ever

CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in ... [+]　　GETTY IMAGES　　Ou-uch! Nearly $30 billion has vanished from Mark Zuckerbergs fortune, an evaporation caused by a steep drop in Meta stock on Thursday.　　Meta shares lost more than a quarter of their value as investors weighed an unsettling collection of financial figures detailed by the company in a quarterly earnings report Wednesday evening. The selloff wiped away $230 billion in Metas market value.　　Attention has turned largely to two matters. One is a decline in Facebook daily users during the fourth quarter. It‘s worth emphasizing the D-word—decline—since this marks the first time the platform has experienced such a decrease. Facebook blamed the downturn on increased competition from TikTok and a rise in internet data costs in India. It is the most recent sign of Facebook’s struggles to maintain what was a decade-long dominance over social media. That has long been obvious about America, but Facebook has managed to make up for the drop in the U.S. with growth overseas. Now, trouble at home and abroad is a new, two-front mess for the company, which still relies on ads sold on Facebook and Instagram for the bulk of

2022-02-04Deep Dive

Top 4 Crypto Exchange Affiliate Programs of Early 2022

Every surge in attention to bitcoin ignites the launch of new crypto projects: exchanges, payment services, apps, and media. And, all these projects seem to now be launching an affiliate program.　　However, not all programs are equally convenient. Some have ambiguous conditions, while others are quite modest when it comes to the payout.　　In this post, well look into the key factors for a smooth affiliate experience and examine 5 of the top crypto affiliate programs of early 2022.Types of crypto affiliate programs　　The specifics of a crypto affiliate program depend on the type of business that the company runs. Crypto exchanges incentivize trading, thus compensating affiliates for new active traders in the form of a paid commission. Wallets, apps and other solutions are on the hunt for new users, so they reward affiliates by CPL (Cost Per Lead) or CPS (Cost Per Sale) models.　　Crypto exchange services that allow for instant swaps between cryptocurrency pairs or crypto and fiat, want to maximize the number of exchange transactions. Such programs have the most convenient conditions for affiliates.　　Heres why:　　Exchanging crypto is a service with a low entrance requirement. These services allow you to swap crypto in small amounts, starting from $20-30. This makes them appealing

2022-02-03Deep Dive

Disney’s New NFT Job Openings Hint At Future Metaverse Plans

The American titan of multinational entertainment Walt Disney Company is looking for NFT experts with a diverse set of skills, a few job openings indicate. The descriptions of the postings hint at the companys larger plans.Disney To Explode The NFT Space　　The media conglomerate currently has four job openings in its careers website that require expertise in the non-fungible tokens ecosystem. Three job openings include “Knowledge of and passion for Digital and NFT categories” as a basic qualification.　　It looks like they are looking for “music, entertainment, and technology industries” to intertwine. Sounds like the very beginning of the entertainment giants own metaverse.　　Although there is no much information about it yet, lets break down what these job openings can tell us.Director, Sales & Digital Marketing　　This job looks for an expert that can act as key point of contact for “all social media and emerging technology partnerships” and lead DMG efforts for emerging technologies, including “AR/VR, Filters, NFTs, Livestreams, and, more.”　　This team is resposible for responsible for the “creative marketing and commerce efforts across key partners like YouTube, VEVO and Social Media.”Culture Trend Marketing Manager　　This job opening is quite interesting because it expands to Disney‘s umbrella of affilates and subsidiaries. The post states

2022-02-03Deep Dive

More than 10% of global working-age internet users own crypto

DataReportal recently released its flagship global overview report–revealing that more than one in 10 working-age internet users owns some form of cryptocurrency.　　The global digital insight provider analyzed major trends related to people‘s online behavior, and for the report’s crypto segment relied on GWIs data, which broke down crypto ownership rates per country and demographics.Thailand leads in crypto adoption　　According to the crypto segment of the report, which relied on a GWI survey carried out in Q3 2021, the number of people who own crypto globally grew by more than a third (37.8%) in the year-to-year period.　　GWI data revealed that more than 10% of working-age internet users now own some form of cryptocurrency, but by zooming in to individual countries, it becomes obvious that the asset class became especially popular across developing economies.　　Percentage of internet users aged 16 to 64 who say they own some form of cryptocurrency–by country (DataReportal: Digital 2022)　　Thailand is convincingly leading in the crypto adoption race–with more than two out of 10 adults in the country (20.1%) reportedly owning some form of cryptocurrency.　　Following Thailand, Nigeria (19.4%), Philippines (19.4%), South Africa (19.4%), and Turkey (18.6%) surfaced as the top five countries with the highest rate of crypto adoption.　　The report

2022-02-03Deep Dive

McDonald’s celebrate Chinese New Year in the metaverse

American fast-food giant, McDonalds is celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year festival by creating a zodiac collection in the Metaverse.　　According to available information, the fast-food company joined forces with Humberto Leon, the co-founder of a foremost fashion brand Opening Ceremony, to develop “a one-of-a-kind collection of zodiac animal designs.”McDonalds and Humberto Leon partners　　The partnership between these two international brands is aimed at creating a virtual reality experience in honor of the festival, dubbed the Year of the Tiger.　　The designs would be created by Humberto Leon, a Chinese-Peruvian American whose cross-cultural identity comes to the fore in the designs.　　Customers would be able to access Leons design by visiting the life-like exhibit on virtual reality social platforms, AltspaceVR and Spatial, where they can also receive horoscopic readings of their year ahead based on their year of birth and their zodiac animal.　　Speaking on this development, McDonald‘s Senior Director of Cultural Engagement, Elizabeth Campbell, says that there can’t be a better time for her company to enter the Metaverse than now. This, according to her, is because the Year of the Tiger is a representation of bravery, strength, and confidence.　　In her words, “Were excited to reach our fans in a meaningful way that captures

2022-02-03Deep Dive

MicroStrategy buys the dip, adding 660 more BTC to its reserve

In its first major purchase of the year, MicroStrategy added 660 additional BTC to its reserves, which currently holds over 125,000 BTC.MicroStrategys doubles down on Bitcoin following conference announcement　　According to the latest Form 8-K document filed with the SEC, MicroStrategy purchased 660 BTC between December 30th, 2021, and January 31st, 2022. The company paid $25 million for its latest purchase, at an average price of approximately $37,865 per Bitcoin.　　MicroStrategy now holds 125,051 BTC, which it acquired at an aggregate purchase price of $3.78 billion an average purchase price of $30,200 per Bitcoin. With Bitcoin standing at around $38,500 at press time, this latest purchase means that MicroStrategy is still in profit, despite the recent market downturn.　　The purchase marked the beginning of the Bitcoin for Corporations conference MicroStrategy announced last week. The virtual event will see the NASDAQ-listed company educate corporations and financial institutions on how to integrate cryptocurrencies into their operations.　　The event, set to take place on February 1st and 2nd, will also explore the benefits of having Bitcoin on corporate balance sheets, its CEO Michael Saylor said on Sunday.　　Aside from Saylor himself, other notable speakers at the conference will include Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter, Aubrey Strobel, the

2022-02-02Deep Dive

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