Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

El Salvador Prepares Legislation for First Bitcoin Bond

El Salvadors government is hoping to issue $1 billion in Bitcoin bonds.　　El Salvador Moves Toward Issuing Bitcoin Bond　　Not content with adopting Bitcoin as an official currency, El Salvador is planning new legislation as part of a move to issue $1 billion in Bitcoin bonds.　　The Central American countrys Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, told Telecorporación Salvadoreña that the government would be sending around 20 laws to Congress in advance of issuing its Bitcoin bond. Zelaya said that the bond, otherwise known as EBB1, would focus on promoting “innovation and financial freedom” in El Salvador. “Since a Bitcoin bond has never been issued, a series of regulations must be issued,” he said.　　Zelaya further added that the country was proposing a plan to offer benefits to Bitcoin investors who take up residence in El Salvador, including granting them nationality. “There are Bitcoiners and friends of mine who want Salvadoran nationality and ask me how they can obtain it, but the country‘s legislation does not have those benefits,” he said, noting that the United States offers similar incentives to individuals who make investments in the country. He also noted that the laws would relate to the country’s plans to become a debt market center

2022-01-05Deep Dive

The Metaverse is Open for Business as Bitski Enables Digital Storefronts for All

Commerce has been codified for the metaverse with the recent launch of the Bitski web3 platform. On its website, the company claims that its reason for existing is “…to increase accessibility, participation and creator sovereignty in the internet economy.”　　The launch of Bitski‘s digital wallet and commerce solution has its sights set on being a first mover to drive broad corporate and consumer adoption across the nascent immersive, metaverse environment that’s rapidly developing online.　　According to Bitskis announcement issued right before Christmas, it empowers owners and creators ranging from large corporate brands to individual artists to launch their own metaverse storefront of digital merchandise – kind of like a next-gen Shopify.　　Whats different, is that Bitski offers an assortment of blockchain-based application programming interfaces (API) – basically software and coding that allow cross-chain engagement – so users can sell and interact on their preferred gaming channels and platforms. The company claims this novel project gives creators and developers greater control over their content and digital points of sale.　　“We‘ve been finetuning the process of creating and selling digital goods since 2017 for everyone from newcomers to professional developers. Now that the waitlist period is over, we’re excited to be the only platform that helps

2022-01-04Deep Dive

Bank of Jamacia completes its first CBDC pilot

The Bank of Jamaica has successfully completed its first central bank digital currency (CBDC), targeting a national rollout in the first quarter of 2022. After proceeding with initial CBDC prototype testing in March 2021, Jamaicas central bank finished an eight-month-long pilot last Friday, the Jamaica Information Service reported. As part of the pilot, the BoJ minted 230 million Jamaican dollars worth of the CBDC for issuance to deposit-taking institutions and authorized payment service providers in August last year.　　Bank of Jamaica issued CBDC to different departments.　　The central bank issued 1 million JMD ($6,500) worth of digital currency to the staff at BoJ‘s banking department. On Oct. 29, the bank also issued 5 million JMD ($32,000) worth of CBDC to the National Commercial Bank (NCB), one of the largest financial institutions in Jamaica. According to the report, the NCB was the first wallet provider in Jamaica’s CBDC pilot, onboarding 57 customers, including four small merchants and 53 consumers. Customers were able to conduct person-to-person, cash-in, and cash-out transactions at an NCB-sponsored event in December 2021.　　The central bank now plans to proceed with a nationwide rollout in Q1 2022.　　The Bank of Jamaica now plans to proceed with a nationwide rollout in Q1 2022,

2022-01-04Deep Dive

What’s going on with Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs?

Although Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs launched in April 2021, a flurry of recent activity has pushed the collection firmly back into the collective crypto consciousness lately.　　A string of celebrity owners, a tie-in with Adidas, not to mention a current floor price of 72.5 ETH ($277k), makes it one of the most successful non-fungible ventures out there.　　Some believe the high selling price of in-demand NFT pieces offers poor value for money. All the same, that argument isnt stopping investors from snapping up BAYC NFTs.Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have featured heavily in the news　　Things seemingly started in mid-December when the former owner of BAYC #3547, who goes by the Opensea username “Maxnaut,” accidentally sold it for 0.75 ETH ($2,800), instead of its rated price of 75 ETH ($280,000).　　Maxnaut said he often lists NFTs, but in this case, wasnt paying attention, causing a lapse of concentration. The piece was instantly bought by a bot account and later resold for 60 ETH ($228,000), netting an 8,000% profit in the process.　　Nonetheless, Maxnaut isnt bitter about what happened. Instead, he chalks the incident down to “part of the game.”　　“I saw the error as my finger clicked confirm, but a bot sent a transaction

2022-01-04Deep Dive

The Estonian government is not banning crypto, but drafts legislation to tighten regulation

Estonian Ministry of Finance released an official clarification of the recently submitted draft legislation that stirred up rumors about a possible ban on cryptocurrencies. 　　According to the rebuttal, the bill, which still needs to undergo three parliament readings, was drafted and submitted in a bid to tighten the existing crypto service providers licensing, and will not affect individuals who own and trade cryptocurrencies.Aimed at virtual asset service providers 　　“The regulation is not applied to customers, but to virtual asset service providers (VASPs) who conduct activities for or on behalf of natural or legal person as a permanent business. This means that the legislation does not contain any measures to ban customers from owning and trading virtual assets and does not in any way require customers to share their private keys to wallets,” read the official rebuttal.　　According to the Ministry of Finance, the proposed regulation that still needs to pass the parliamentary hearings, will not affect individuals who own crypto through a private wallet not provided by a VASP. 　　“However, accounts opened with Estonian VASPs cannot be anonymous and Estonian VASPs cannot offer anonymous accounts or wallets,” it added, clarifying that the “identifying information must be retained in a way that

2022-01-04Deep Dive

The first usable Cardano DeFi dApp goes live, and it’s not SundaeSwap

Data aggregator DeFi Lama adds Cardano marking the start of the projects foray into decentralized finance. This happened thanks to an under-the-radar DeFi offering going live at the beginning of the new year.　　Recently, Cardano has been feeling the heat over its lack of useable dApps. Critics say its been around four months since the chain had smart contract functionality, and still, the ecosystem is struggling to gain traction.　　Throughout this period, Input Output (IO) CEO Charles Hoskinson addressed these concerns. Most recently, during an end-of-year live stream, Hoskinson said a huge DeFi ecosystem is starting to present itself.　　Nonetheless, the skeptics among us would say talk is cheap. And that Hoskinsons words do not support a functioning, usable dApp ecosystem of significance.　　However, two days after posting the live stream in question, Cardano gets its first usable DeFi dApp.Cardano DeFi is officially here　　Since Alonzo went live on September 12, the Cardano ecosystem has been under pressure to grow. Hundreds of projects across DEXes, wallets, DeFi, meme coins, stablecoins, oracles, and NFTs, to name a few categories, are in the works.　　Given SundaeSwap‘s high publicized testnet at the start of December, not to mention IO’s collaboration with the team to ensure a smooth testnet, many

2022-01-04Deep Dive

Goldman Sachs shows Bitcoin outperformed all capital markets in 2021

The latest data from Goldman Sachs shows that Bitcoin has cemented its position as the go-to store of value among many investors.　　According to the bank‘s 2021 return scorecard, Bitcoin’s returns last year outperformed all capital markets, including global indexes the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, and equities such as FAAMG. Gold, the traditional go-to store of value, posted returns of just 4% and is beginning to look less and less interesting to investors.　　Gold is losing its dominance as a store of value as Bitcoin posted solid and stable returns in 2021　　Last year‘s market volatility yielded some unlikely winners in the crypto industry, with novel meme coins leading the way when it came to gains exceeding, in some cases, several thousand percent. In the world of Flokis and Shibas, Bitcoin’s modest returns of just around 60% had almost removed it from the minds of most crypto investors.　　However, zooming out and changing perspectives shows that Bitcoin is becoming increasingly popular among traditional investors, many of whom now see it as a go-to store of value asset that has been outperforming all capital markets.　　Screengrab showing the Goldman Sachs 2021 return scorecard for benchmark and thematic equity baskets (Source: Twitter)　　According to the Goldman Sachs 2021

2022-01-04Deep Dive

South Korean Presidential Candidate To Use NFTs To Raise Campaign Funds

In quite an unusual manner, South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-Myung of the Democratic Party (DP), is set to raise funds for his campaign using nonfungible tokens (NFTs).　　According to reports, those who donate money for the campaign will have NFTs issued back to them by the party, even as momentum builds in anticipation for the upcoming presidential elections. As gathered, these NFTs will contain the images of the candidate and his pledges.　　 South Korean Presidential Candidate Looks To Connect To The Youthful Side of the Country　　As expected, the move was to appeal to the youthful side of the South Korean populace. This was confirmed by campaign official Kim Nam-kook when he said the same during an interview with Yonhap News. He says:　　“As the young generation in their 20s and 30s are interested in emerging technologies, including virtual assets, NFTs and the metaverse, this type of fundraising could appeal to them”　　Apart from the idea of using NFTs for campaigns, the DP is also looking for ways to integrate other evolving technologies such as accepting crypto donations.　　As if to say the party reached a consensus regarding crypto, another DP member also announced recently, that he would be accepting crypto donations.　　Representative Lee Kwang-Jae

2022-01-04Deep Dive

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Insists That Bitcoin Has Almost No Legitimate Uses

Prominent economist Paul Krugman has started the new year by taking another swipe at Bitcoin, claiming that the worlds largest cryptocurrency has almost no legitimate uses in a recent Twitter thread.　　Krugman believes that fiat currencies going “to hell” will incur a bunch of other political and societal problems that one simply wont be able to fix with the help of cryptocurrencies.　　Yet, proponents of crypto argue that Krugmans views are too myopic since he ignores the recent tech developments within the Bitcoin community.　　He cites a Bloomberg Wealth article that mentioned Hungarian-born billionaire Thomas Peterffys recommendation to keep up to 3% of personal wealth in cryptocurrencies in case fiat money collapses.　　Peterffy believes that cryptocurrency prices could soar to millions or ultimately crash to zero, which is why his bet is relatively conservative:　　“I think it can go to zero, and I think it can go to a million dollars.”　　Ray Dalio, who has repeatedly called cash “trash,” also came out in favor of Bitcoin last year, but he recently clarified that he wasnt a raging bull, merely recognizing the top cryptocurrency as a means of diversification. The legendary hedge fund manager continues to stand by his prediction that governments could potentially ban Bitcoin.　　Last May,

2022-01-04Deep Dive

The number of countries banning crypto has doubled in three years

Although 2021 was a good year for the cryptocurrency industry in terms of market performance, the number of jurisdictions banning crypto has more than doubled since 2018.　　A report by the Library of Congress (LOC) details the nine jurisdictions that have now applied an absolute ban on crypto and the 42 with an implicit ban. This is up from eight and 15 respectively in 2018 when the report was first published.　　The LOC is the research library for the United States Senate, acting as the national library for the country.　　In the context of the LOC report, an absolute ban means any “transactions with or holding cryptocurrency is a criminal act”, whereas an implicit ban prohibits cryptocurrency exchanges, banks, and other financial institutions from “dealing in cryptocurrencies or offering services to individuals/businesses dealing in cryptocurrencies.”　　The nine new jurisdictions with an absolute ban include Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Bangladesh, and China. Chinas crypto ban received the most attention in 2021.　　The dramatic increase in jurisdictions banning or regulating cryptocurrency over the past three years is not showing signs of slowing as several governments are currently reviewing their options. Aside from the 51 jurisdictions with a crypto ban, 103 have applied anti-money laundering

2022-01-04Deep Dive

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