Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Report: Pakistan Likely to Earn Billions From Cryptocurrency

According to a document produced by a Pakistani policy advisory board, the country is likely to earn billions of dollars from crypto-asset holders. Yet for this to happen, the country first needs to create the appropriate regulatory framework for crypto assets.　　 Cryptocurrencies Could Boost Reserves　　Pakistan may potentially raise billions of dollars from crypto assets held by its nationals or by residents with dual citizenship, a policy document produced by the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) has said.　　According to a report in The Business Recorder, the document titled “Prospect of Cryptocurrencies: A Context of Pakistan Policy Brief” asserts that Pakistan could also use the crypto assets to help boost the countrys reserves.　　However, before it adopts the recommendations of the policy document, Pakistan needs to craft a regulatory framework as well as a national cryptocurrency strategy. This, according to the report, must be done in order to protect the countrys economic interests.　　Concerning the volatility of cryptocurrencies, the policy document reportedly recommends their recognition as an asset class. In addition, the report also explains how cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are likely to attract both domestic and foreign investors. Such a crypto ETF could ostensibly help the Pakistan Stock Exchange

2022-01-07Deep Dive

Europe's Securities Watchdog Seeks Feedback on Regulations Ahead of DLT Pilot

ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority, has set out to establish if EU authorities need to amend existing regulations in order to facilitate the trading and settlement of tokenized securities. The regulator is now seeking opinions on the matter ahead of launching a pilot regime for market infrastructures based on distributed ledger technology (DLT).　　ESMA Gathers Stakeholders Input on DLT Pilot Regime for Securities　　The European securities watchdog ESMA is accepting public comments on the potential update of regulations concerning the implementation of DLT solutions in the market. The authority has to assess whether some regulatory technical standards (RTS) developed under the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MIFIR) need to be amended in order to be applied to securities issued, traded, and recorded on DLT.　　The standards in question pertain to trade transparency and data reporting requirements, ESMA notes in a “Call for Evidence” document published this week, which seeks feedback from various stakeholders. These include trading venues, securities settlement systems and entities planning to operate under its DLT pilot regime, and other market participants that intend to use DLT market infrastructures.　　The announcement notes that the text of the DLT pilot is not finalized yet but as an agreement between the European

2022-01-07Deep Dive

Thailand imposes 15% capital gain tax on cryptocurrency

Thailand‘s regulatory authority has decided to levy a 15 percent capital gains tax on all cryptocurrency profits, following the considerable growth in the size and value of the country’s digital asset market in 2021.　　With this latest development, all taxpayers who benefit from cryptocurrencies, including investors and mining operators, will be liable to a 15% withholding tax, citing an anonymous source within the Finance Ministry, Bangkok Post reported. However, crypto exchanges have been exempted from the capital gains tax.　　Strengthening supervision on the crypto market　　The Revenue Department seeks to strengthen its supervision over the growing local cryptocurrency trading. Notably, the Thai Revenue Department can consider profits from cryptocurrency traders as taxable income under Section 40 of the Royal Decree modifying Revenue Code No.19. A capital gains tax is a tax on the profit realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset.　　Although, it is not clear if the capital gains will be levied only after the digital currencies were converted to Thai baht or other stable coins as well.　　Meanwhile, to avoid legal penalties as profits from trading, the ministry suggests that investors identify their crypto income while paying their taxes in 2022.　　BoT against cryptocurrencies trading　　In December 2021, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) had

2022-01-07Deep Dive

Almost $10 billion was poured into crypto funds by institutional investors in 2021

There is no doubt that 2021 was a great year for the crypto industry as the space witnessed a level of interest never seen before in its entire history. This could be seen with the level of institutional interest and investment in the space which rose massively within that period.　　Crypto institutional investments top $9 billion in 2021　　CoinShares, in its annual report, has revealed that institutional investors invested more in the space than in previous times. According to the report, there was a 36% increase in fund inflow to digital assets in the year.　　In the report, the digital asset investment and management company wrote that crypto asset funds saw a massive inflow in 2021 hitting $9.3 billion.　　It also indicated that the figure is 36% higher than the year before (2020). However, the increased inflow of 2021 was well below the figure of 2019 when it was well over 800%.　　Per CoinShares, institutional investment in the space signals the current level of maturity in the space.　　“This represents a maturing industry, with total assets under management (AuM) ending the year at US$62.5bn in 2021 versus just US$2.8bn at the end of 2019.”　　The report also captures the fact that many other coins have been added

2022-01-06Deep Dive

DeFi starts year strongly, TVL rises by 4%

Towards the end of last year, the total value of assets locked in decentralized finance plunged to around $230 billion.　　However, since that low, the space has seen a steady rise of up to 12% in its TVL, with the first four days of this new year accounting for 4% of the rise — an early indication that DeFi is starting the year strongly.DeFi TVL has already risen by 4% in 2022　　According to available data from DeFiLlama, DeFis TVL stood at $228.13 billion as of December 11 but the figure had risen to $245 billion by January 1 and as of press time, it had risen to $256 billion. This means that the space TVL has gathered over $10 billion within the first 5 days of this year.　　Per the data, the TVL is shared across blockchain networks supporting smart contract features like Ethereum, Terra, Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Avalanche, Solana, Near, Harmony, Ronin, etc.　　A cursory look at the data will reveal that Ethereum leads with $160.96 billion across 383 protocols, followed by Terra with $19 billion. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) is third with $16.57 billion across 265 DeFi protocols.　　Other notable blockchains with massive TVL include Fantom with $6 billion while Osmosis

2022-01-06Deep Dive

Enjin to launch headquarters in Bloktopia metaverse

Enjin, a leading Polkadot project, has announced that it is launching its brand new headquarters in the Bloktopia metaverse. This new space is designed to show off its growing NFT ecosystem and projects. As more and more organizations pour into the metaverse, it is fast becoming trendy to have a dedicated office in the virtual world. Forget remote working, virtual working could be a key feature of 2022. 　　In 2021, Enjin‘s Efinity has won Polkadot’s sixth and last parachain auction with a contribution of over $214 million in DOT. Efinity is Enjins scalable, decentralized, and cross-chain NFT infrastructure. To expand its presence in the NFT markets, Enjin is now positioning itself alongside other crypto brands that have set up homes in the metaverse.　　Entering the metaverse by setting up its headquarters in Bloktopia is an interesting way to host events and explore new ways of keeping ongoing community engagement. In November, Enjin launched a dedicated $100 million US Metaverse Fund to support individuals and organizations working on the Enjin ecosystem, metaverse projects, gaming and NFTs. The team at Enjin works with pioneering projects that are immersive, decentralized environments.　　Acting as a bridge from the physical into the virtual world, Bloktopia is a

2022-01-06Deep Dive

Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin throughout 2021

It is an unarguable fact that Bitcoin and Ethereum are the two biggest cryptocurrencies in the world today. The battle between these two coins dragged on throughout last year and the silent competition between both assets continues to shape the world of cryptocurrency.Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin throughout 2021　　To be specific, based on multiple metrics, Bitcoin is currently the largest cryptocurrency in the world and it reached its new all-time high of above $68,000 within the just concluded year. This means that the asset had recorded a 58% growth in value when compared to 2020.　　However, despite this impressive return, the performance of Bitcoin is almost insignificant when compared to that of some other currencies, especially Ethereum.　　According to available data, the growth of the second largest crypto asset by market cap within this period outstrips that of its more illustrious partner.　　Per the data, Ether saw a growth of over 140% within the same period.　　A breakdown of this superior growth, based on the quarterly returns, indicates that in each of the four quarters of last year, ETH performed better than BTC. This included when the world was battling an unprecedented pandemic and when the entire crypto market suffered a sell-off.　　A cursory look at the

2022-01-06Deep Dive

Airbnb CEO Dabbles With Adding Crypto Payments in 2022

American home rental firm Airbnb Inc. might soon join the growing list of companies that accept cryptocurrencies as payment options for services.　　Airbnb to Accept Crypto Payments？　　The possibility of Airbnb supporting crypto payments comes after the companys co-founder, and CEO Brian Chesky asked users on Twitter to recommend anything they would like the home rental firm to do in 2022.　　Three days after he posed the question, Chesky sorted through nearly 4,000 comments and made a list of the top six recommendations.　　 Crypto Payments Tops List　　Apparently, many people want to be able to book an Airbnb apartment with digital assets as “crypto payments” topped the list of suggestions.　　Other recommendations in the top six include providing clear pricing displays, a guest loyalty program, updated cleaning fees, more long-term stays and discounts, and better customer service.　　Interestingly, the CEO added that some of the suggestions are already in the pipeline for 2022, and the firm will consider others.　　Although Chesky did not explicitly state his companys stance on adding crypto payments, his comments could mean one of two things. Either Airbnb was already planning to integrate digital asset payments into its services before the CEO asked for suggestions, or it will consider doing so before the

2022-01-06Deep Dive

Cryptowire Launches First Indian Crypto Index Fund

Cryptowire, a Ticker Plant unit, has launched the first Indian cryptocurrency index. The index, called IC15, will monitor the worlds top 15 cryptocurrencies listed on global exchanges.　　Cryptowire believes that the index will help create crypto ETFs and funds and believes it will contribute to research. They also hope that it will increase awareness of the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem and provide solutions for those who wish to diversify their investment in cryptocurrencies. Jigish Sonagara, who is the Managing Director and CEO of Cryptowire, said, “We want all participants to utilize, to the fullest, this research-oriented, technology-powered opportunity for tracking the market,” he added.　　How index will be calculated　　The index value will be calculated by taking the total of the circulating market capitalization of the Index Basket divided by the Index Divisor, multiplied by the base value of 10000. The base date is April 1, 2018. The index is sitting at 71475.48 as of Dec. 31, 2021.　　The index will be monitored, reviewed, and rebalanced every quarter and will be managed by a committee of domain experts, industry practitioners, and academicians. The Index Divisor is multiplied by a normalization factor during the rebalancing period.　　A cryptocurrency needs to trade for a minimum of 90%

2022-01-06Deep Dive

Professor At Elon Musk’s Alma Mater On Why Bitcoin Is The New Gold For Millennials

A Wharton professor believes Bitcoin is now preferred as a long-term investment by young investors to gold.　　2021 was not the best year for gold as it struggled in its role as a hedge against inflation.　　Wharton launched a cryptocurrency course in Q4 of 2021 to teach the rudiments of blockchain technology.　　A finance professor at Wharton, University of Pennsylvania, said that Bitcoin was now the preferred inflationary hedge for young people. The professor said this in an interview with CNBC.　　Bitcoin Has Replaced Gold And Inflation Concerns　　Jeremy Siegel, Wharton finance professor, said younger market participants now look to bitcoin to protect themselves from asset devaluation in the face of inflation.　　“Lets face the fact, I think Bitcoin as an inflation hedge in the minds of many younger investors has replaced gold. Digital coins are the new gold for Millennials. I think that the story of gold is a fact that the younger generation regards Bitcoin as a substitute.” Siegel said.　　Jeremy Siegel said that gold, as well as other commodities, failed to meet expectations in the past year, while Bitcoin was increasingly becoming the preferred choice for the new generation of investors. Siegel reminisced that the trajectory of Bitcoin in the past year was similar

2022-01-06Deep Dive

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