Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Facebook’s Meta is hiring staffs of its rivals to build the metaverse

With Meta’s plan to build the metaverse already in full swing, reports from Wall Street Journal have indicated that the tech company has been poaching employees of rival tech firms like Microsoft and Apple.Meta is poaching staff from Microsoft　　According to the report, a former employee of Microsoft revealed that the tech firms augmented reality team had lost around 100 members to Meta.　　He continued that the Meta had targeted those who had previously worked on Microsofts HoloLens augmented reality (AR) headsets. 　　This claim was corroborated by a dig into the LinkedIn profiles of some former staff of Microsofts HoloLens team which showed that over 40 had taken new positions at Meta.　　In 2016, Microsoft began its works in the Augmented Reality space. This means that most of its staff are attractive to competitors like Meta, who would be able to reap the benefits of their experience in the space.　　In a bid to further protect its staff from leaving, Apple has been offering bonuses around $50,000 to $180,000 to them. This is its attempt to prevent them from leaving for competitors.Facebook renaming to Meta pushes interest in Metaverse to new highs　　Since Facebook revealed its intent to pivot to the metaverse, a number of

2022-01-13Deep Dive

US Federal Trade Commission Warns Consumers About Falling for Crypto ATM Scam

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has warned consumers about scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs. “Theres a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency,” the FTC described.　　FTCs Warning About Scams Involving Cryptocurrency ATMs　　The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a scam alert involving cryptocurrency ATMs Monday. The consumer notice, posted by Cristina Miranda from the FTCs division of consumer and business education, states:　　“Theres a new spin on scammers asking people to pay with cryptocurrency.”　　“It involves an impersonator, a QR code, and a trip to a store (directed by a scammer on the phone) to send your money to them through a cryptocurrency ATM,” the notice details.　　The scammers might call the victims pretending to be from the government, law enforcement, or a local utility company, the FTC noted. They could also pretend to be a romantic interest you met online or someone calling to inform you that you‘ve won a lottery. They will stay on the phone with you until they’ve got your money.　　The FTC explained that the scammer will “direct you to withdraw money from your bank, investment, or retirement accounts.”　　Next, they will direct you to go to a store with a cryptocurrency ATM and buy cryptocurrency. Then

2022-01-13Deep Dive

Hong Kong to Set a Plan for Cryptocurrency Regulations by July 2022: Report

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the central banking institution of the city-state) reportedly intends to establish a new regulatory regime for digital assets by July this year. The special administrative region of China is willing to follow Singapores path and become a cryptocurrency hub for that part of the world.　　Hong Kongs Regulatory Framework Coming This Summer　　According to a recent coverage by Bloomberg, Hong Kongs central bank will approach the cryptocurrency industry from three aspects: protection for local investors, comprehensive rules for authorized institutions on how to deal with digital assets, and special attention to stablecoins.　　The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is willing to put stablecoins under enhanced scrutiny. In a recent press release, the institution said such assets present “possible risks regarding monetary and financial stability.” The central bank noted it had been closely monitoring the development of these assets and “would like to proactively share” its views with the broader society.　　Mr. Eddie Yue – Chief Executive of the HKMA – revealed the bank is waiting for feedback from stakeholders on the recent proposals. He added that it will draw up a “risk-based, pragmatic, and agile regulatory regime” for the cryptocurrency industry.　　Currently, the special administrative region of China employs a

2022-01-13Deep Dive

Indian government may double tax on crypto, report says

The Indian government is mulling the taxation of cryptocurrencies as business income, in a decision which could double the tax burden on investors, according to a local report.　　 Fast facts　　Currently, crypto earnings are taxed as capital gains, which stand at 20%, while business income rates reach as high as 42%.　　Taxing each crypto transaction rather than a single levy upon liquidation of assets is also under consideration, according to two senior tax advisors involved in government discussions cited by the Economic Times.　　Additionally, India may levy an 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on crypto investors themselves, if exchanges pass on this tax burden.　　The government, which currently does not collect data from crypto investors, may also amend the Income Tax Act to mandate crypto gains disclosures.　　Tax authorities recovered around US$9.3 million from Indian crypto exchanges for alleged tax evasion last week, to which some exchanges blamed the ambiguities in existing tax laws.　　Crypto tax implications are expected to be on the table in the upcoming February budget session.　　For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit- the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.

2022-01-13Deep Dive

Consortium of U.S. Banks Proposes "USDF" Stablecoin

A group of five U.S. banks in the U.S. has launched the USDF Consortium with the goal of bringing a bank-minted stablecoin to the U.S.　　U.S. Banks Launch Stablecoin Consortium　　Centralized stablecoins like USDC and USDT might soon have more competition.　　An association of five FDIC-insured U.S. financial institutions has launched the “USDF Consortium” with the goal of establishing a network of banks and creating an interoperable stablecoin called the USDF. The founding members of the association include the New York Community Bank, NBH Bank, FirstBank, Sterling National Bank, and Synovus Bank.　　In a press release, the association said that launching the USDF would facilitate the “compliant transfer” of value via blockchain technology, remove “friction in the financial system,” and allow for more people to enjoy the financial opportunities blockchain technology offers.　　“USDF opens up endless possibilities for the expanding world of DeFi transactions,” Figure CEO Mike Cagney said. “The ease and immediacy of using USDF for on-chain transactions was demonstrated this fall when NYCB minted USDF used to settle securities trades executed on Figures alternative trading systems. We are tremendously excited that NYCB expects to be minting USDF on demand and on a regular basis in the coming weeks.”　　The USDF stablecoin will be minted

2022-01-13Deep Dive

Bitcoin is Experiencing its Worst Annual Start Since 2012: How Might 2022 End?

After breaking above $68k in early November, expectations for the pioneer crypto heightened, with many market analysts predicting that Bitcoin would hit $100k by the end of the year.　　Bitcoin, however, failed to live up to expectations, ending the year at $46,306. While many expected a repeat of 2021, with Bitcoin running to multiple all-time highs at the start of the year, 2022 brought a new wave of downtrends.　　Experiencing a six-day losing streak, sending its price below $40,000, Bitcoin is having its worst start to a year since 2012. Despite recovering above $42k, since the start of 2022, Bitcoin has lost 13% and 39% from its November 10th all-time high.　　The year-to-date price chart of Bitcoin (BTC). Source: TradingView　　2022 Could Get Worse for Bitcoin　　Many sources have pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the relief packages as the start of Bitcoins rise to prominence among retail investors.　　However, with the Fed announcing it will become more restrictive, there has been a major drop in the price of Bitcoin.　　Although investors have had more than their fill of losses, experts believe 2022 could get worse for crypto markets. According to Jay Hatfield, the CEO of Infrastructure Capital Advisors, Bitcoin could slump below $20k as the Fed

2022-01-12Deep Dive

Fidelity Report: Crypto Regulation Will Be Required in 2022

As crypto native firms continue to innovate and grow the industry, new regulation will “certainly be required,” Fidelity Digital Assets Director of Research Chris Kuiper and Research Analyst Jack Neureuter said in a report.　　“Regulation and product access work hand in hand and we are hopeful that 2022 can bring about more clarity than prior years as we feel this is key to bringing a greater portion of the hundreds of trillions in traditional assets into the digital asset ecosystem,” they said.　　In the final months of 2021, US policymakers sent signals that greater oversight of this asset class is imperative.　　Even as regulation loomed over the industry, retail and institutional investors adoption increased dramatically. The total market capitalization for cryptocurrencies is $2 trillion, up over 110% from the year-ago date, data on CoinMarketCap shows. At its peak, the total cryptocurrency market cap was almost $3 trillion on Nov. 9, 2021.　　“While its growth rate has been impressive, it is still relatively small compared to the hundreds of trillions of dollars in assets globally,” they wrote.　　As the digital asset ecosystem expanded and in 2021, Kuiper and Neureuter expect institutional interest in DeFi to continue to grow this year.　　The combination of proper regulation and financial

2022-01-12Deep Dive

Ronin Sidechain Processed 560% More Total Transactions Than Ethereum Last November

Researcher Takes a Deep Dive Into Axie Infinitys Ronin Network　　Axie Infinity, the Ethereum-based blockchain game developed by Sky Mavis has seen a significant amount of NFT sales surpassing every NFT compilation released to date. Out of 1.44 million buyers across 12.6 million transactions, Axie Infinity has seen $3.85 billion in all-time sales. However, even though Axie Infinity is an Ethereum-based game, the protocol leverages the sidechain Ronin to help alleviate scaling issues. In the introduction to Axie Infinity‘s Ronin, Nansen researcher Martin Lee explains that Ethereum’s Layer one (L1) “was not built for gaming.”　　Photo credit: Nansen Research and researcher Martin Lee.　　To handle the issue with high fees and scaling problems, Axie Infinity‘s development team created the Ronin sidechain to help facilitate transactions in a faster and inexpensive fashion. Lee’s research report compares Ronin to the sidechain protocol Polygon and the Layer two (L2) blockchain Arbitrum One. The study also explains how the Ronin sidechain has its own native wallet in order to handle sidechain transactions. Interestingly, when it comes to scaling Lees report shows that last November, “Ronin processed over 560% of the total number of transactions on Ethereum.” 　　“While there is no official documentation on the max TPS (transactions

2022-01-12Deep Dive

Elrond acquires payments provider Utrust in a bid to bring crypto to millions of merchants

Elrond, a high-throughput blockchain platform, announced today that it has acquired Utrust, a global cryptocurrency payment solution.　　In a press release shared with CryptoSlate, the company said that acquiring Utrust will enable it to revolutionize e-commerce and payments.　　Elrond bets big on Web3 payments　　Despite the increasing digitalization of the world of commerce, payment processors still offer slow settlement times and extremely high fees ranging from 3% to 11% of each transaction. And while these numbers are negligible in the world of crypto, they often mean the difference between profitability and bankruptcy for many businesses around the globe.　　Elrond, a high-throughput PoS blockchain platform, is on a mission to solve this.　　The first order of business was acquiring Utrust, a Portugal-based cryptocurrency payment solution offering instant settlement for merchants.　　Announced earlier today, the acquisition is set to accomplish two distinct goals—make payments faster and more reliable by using blockchain technology and introduce a new product called Merchant Yield.　　In a press release shared with CryptoSlate, the company said its blockchain technology will serve as the backbone for the new, high bandwidth, low latency, inexpensive financial system that will be accessible to anyone, anywhere.　　The new financial system will use blockchain technology to make payments “fully natively digital,” the

2022-01-12Deep Dive

Unlocking the $12.6-Trillion machine economy on Web3

Web3 is poised to disrupt the internet. It already has in many ways. Its paving the way to a multi-trillion-dollar decentralized machine economy at the forefront of which IoTeX stands. This, according to highly-regarded engineers and technologists leaders from Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), and the International Internet Consortium (IIC).　　“IoTeX is, interestingly, kind of in a sweet spot right now,” said Amazon Global Blockchain Leader Anoop Nannra in a recent Web3 panel. “If I look at the way you […] are approaching what you do, and how you do it, I think IoTeX is very unique. I think there are a lot of opportunities there, and I think the ecosystem will reward itself and the broader community that is around that ecosystem.”　　The highly-regarded blockchain expert also said he sees a significant “upside” to IoTeXs goal to decentralize the machine economy via Web3. That is where users will own their data, smart devices, and the value they generate instead of being dominated and monetized only by Big Tech.　　“I think the (IoTeX) ecosystem will reward itself and the broader community because ecosystems are not in isolation,” Nannra added. “Theres a lot of upside not just from a monetary perspective but

2022-01-12Deep Dive

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