Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Gamers have a new way to mine cryptocurrency with their high-powered PCs

Formed in 2017, GamerHash is a well-established project with just under 1 million users and a solid commercial base. In fact, given the commercial premise of the project, it is surprising there are not more copycat companies following their business model. However, it would be hard to catch up now given their early player advantage.　　In a nutshell, GamerHash combines unused CPU and GPU of gamer devices to mine cryptocurrencies. It only works on gamer devices with their powerful graphics cards. No extra electricity is consumed; it takes advantage of the electricity already being used. The software automatically selects which cryptocurrencies to mine from a basket of twelve. The user is unaware of the details but receives a reward in Bitcoin.　　The cost of these gamer machines is typically between $4000 and $5000. The more powerful machines are capable of mining more cryptocurrency, but an average machine can generate approximately $100 a month – enough to pay for bills or purchasing digital services or items, while the more powerful machines can earn around $250 per month, providing a possible decent payback of just over a year.　　So, the gamer who typically has the machine on 24×7 can earn a passive income without expending

2021-12-30Deep Dive

Reddit’s co-founder agrees that blockchain technology is not going anywhere

Alexis Ohanian, Reddits co-founder, has agreed that blockchain technology is here to stay. His remarks echo what leading financial institutions have noted, as they agree to the future of blockchain technology compared to individual crypto assets.　　In an interview with CNBC, Ohanian noted that he had already made strategic investments in some of the leading firms operating in the blockchain sector. Ohanian is also the founder of Seven Seven Six, a venture capital firm.Ohanian says blockchain technology is here to stay　　During the interview, Ohanian noted that he had been in the blockchain space for a while, and he believes that the underlying technology is here to stay. Ohanian was one of the seed investors in Coinbase in 2012, in the early years of one of the leading crypto exchange platforms.　　Ohanian also talked about the volatility of cryptocurrencies in general. He noted that while cryptocurrencies were highly volatile, and most of them could not last into the future, blockchain technology was “real” and was gaining adoption from some leading technology companies.　　He also added that with any new technologies, there were the initial stages, where most of the innovations consolidate, and while some could fade, there were those that could become successful. As

2021-12-30Deep Dive

Thailand’s small entrepreneurs tapped into lucrative Bitcoin mining–buying up rigs from China

Lucrative Bitcoin mining is reportedly on the upswing in Thailand–thanks to cheap leftover hardware purchased from China, Al Jazeera reported. 　　Over 50% of the industry was forced to relocate in May after China imposed a ban on mining crypto, and while big operations found their new bases in countries like the US, Kazakhstan, and Canada, smaller players sold their gear to Thai entrepreneurs.Seizing the opportunity 　　According to the report, retail crypto miners in Thailand are buying mining rigs in large amounts.　　“Chinese miners got rid of their machines and the price collapsed by 30 percent,” explained Thai entrepreneur Pongsakorn Tongtaveenan.　　Tongtaveenan is one of many small investors who were snagging up redundant computer processors needed for mining Bitcoin and shipping them to Southeast Asia.　　“Theres around 100.000 Thai miners now,” according to the 30-year old entrepreneur, who was able to sell hundreds of units across the country, as small players jumped into the mining business.　　“The moment China banned crypto, we were ecstatic,” another Bitcoin miner, running a small solar-powered processor from his garage in eastern Thailand, told Al Jazeera.Crypto mining cottage industry　　“Bitcoin is the gold of the digital world. But a mining rig is like gold mining stocks: youre paid dividends according to

2021-12-30Deep Dive

El Salvadorians Tweet Combined Loss of $90,000 in Bitcoin from Their Government Chivo Wallets

Over the past few weeks, dozens of citizens of El Salvador have taken to Twitter to complain about the mysterious loss of funds from their Chivo wallets. In September, El Salvador‘s government accepted Bitcoin as legal tender, and it awarded fractional amounts of Bitcoin – approximately worth $30 – to all citizens who signed up for the government’s preferred digital wallet Chivo.　　In mid-December, Twitter user @_elcomisionado_ created a thread comprising dozens of examples of tweets from people claiming losses from their Chivo wallets that range between $61 to $16,000. The total amount of the consolidated losses exceeded $96,000. This translated post from Twitter user @designvbt was one of the largest purported losses, equivalent to more than $16,000.　　Another 131 complaints of identity theft were reported over the last week, bringing the total number of formal complaints to more than 880, said Zaira Navas, an attorney and victim.　　“We represent a group of people who reported to our digital platform, but there are many other people who went to the Prosecutor‘s Office on their own or to the company’s headquarters to complain,” Navas said after bringing the cases to the Attorney Generals office, La Prensa Grafica reported.　　El Salvador is the first country to

2021-12-30Deep Dive

Who is the Cardano DeFi Alliance and why does it matter?

In line with standardizing practices for the up-and-coming Cardano DeFi ecosystem, the Cardano DeFi Alliance (CDA) offers a framework for protocol developers to work together on critical issues and strategic development.　　First announced in mid-December, the CDA sets out to promote the benefits of the Cardano blockchain with a view to setting DeFi industry standards.　　“The primary mission of the CDA is to provide collaboration among leading DeFi protocols, provide open-source libraries, craft best practices, and innovate within the Cardano DeFi ecosystem.”　　Formally structuring Cardanos DeFi ecosystem seems like a step in the right direction as far as collaborative development goes. But, critics maintain that fifteen weeks since Alonzo smart contracts rolled out, there is still no dApp ecosystem.Who is the Cardano DeFi Alliance？　　The CDA comprises DeFi developers, infrastructure providers, and Plutus engineers. They intend to “communicate, educate, and innovate through this organization.”　　Part of their vision is to share information and solutions. More so, to establish a platform for opinions to be heard and debated in the spirit of “cooperative competitiveness.”　　“Members are committed to participating in the CDA with a spirit of openness, collaboration, and cooperative competitiveness.”　　To that end, the CDA encourages all Cardano DeFi projects to sign up. As they say, every

2021-12-30Deep Dive

S Korea Now Has 24 Licenced Crypto Exchanges

Medium-sized South Korean crypto exchanges are gunning for the “big four” trading platforms vice-like grip on the industry – but vital banking breakthroughs are still proving elusive.　　Last week the regulatory Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) granted over a dozen crypto exchanges operating permits, EDaily reported, taking the number of registered crypto operators (e.g., exchanges, wallets) in the nation to 29. This number includes five wallet operators and the “big four” crypto trading platforms: Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone. These four firms have obtained the banking partnerships that allowed them to offer fiat on/off ramps.　　The remaining 20 firms are exchanges that failed to obtain real name-authenticated banking deals prior to a September 24 registration deadline that forced a slew of exchanges to shut in the days following.　　These 20 exchanges are now stuck in a vanishingly small crypto-to-crypto-only market, frozen out of their once-lucrative KRW pairings – and are legally prohibited from offering fiat KRW markets.　　This situation has forced firms into a form of crypto-to-crypto purgatory, which forces them to offer customers bitcoin (BTC) pairings that can only tap into fiat markets via the services of the won-trading “big four.”　　Their number includes Flybit, which received its own permit around a month ago, and

2021-12-30Deep Dive

Bitcoin Should Not Be Measured In Dollar Terms, Says Pompliano

The value of bitcoin is currently being measured in dollar terms and this is understandable given that fiat is still the most dominant form of currency. While those in the crypto space believe this will not continue for much longer, it is still important to price the digital asset in fiat currency to show its value to investors.　　However, millionaire investor Anthony Pompliano has countered against this accepted form of valuing bitcoin. He addressed the way the digital asset is valued as well as the dreaded volatility on a recent episode of CNBCs Squawk Box.　　Dont Value Bitcoin In Dollars　　Presently, one bitcoin is trading for around $51K. This apparent value is derived from the dollar, which confers a fiat value upon an asset that was created to replace it. Pompliano says that this should not be so. Instead, bitcoin should be priced in bitcoin. This way, “one Bitcoin still equals one Bitcoin,” says the investor.　　Bitcoins value, when gauged in bitcoin, does not really change. The deflationary asset was designed in a way that it appreciates in value over time rather than depreciate, as is the case with the dollar.　　However, Pompliano notes that people ignore or overlook this part because they are so

2021-12-30Deep Dive

North Korean Hackers Have Stolen Over $1.7 Billion Of Crypto From Exchanges, Here’s Their Intention

North Korea is reportedly harboring over $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency stolen from crypto exchanges over the course of five years and has been conspiring with money-laundering criminals to launch cybercrimes around the world.　　These crimes are instigated by hackers and cyber warriors trained and sponsored by North Korea who are now being blamed for the Bithumb and Kucoin hacks that saw the exchanges lose $32 million and $281 million respectively in 2017 and 2018. They are also being blamed for stealing over 4,000 Bitcoins after hacking the YouBit crypto exchange based in South Korea in 2017. After training, the cybercriminals are allegedly instructed to storm western-associated cryptocurrency exchanges.　　Surprisingly, North Korea has not sold all proceeds from the hacks and many times choose to hold. For North Korea, the financial and economic sanctions placed by the west against it are the greatest motivation for launching these attacks. This is according to Asian Institute for Policy Studies Senior Research Fellow Koh Myung-Hyun.　　“Considering the fact that the price of bitcoin (BTC) has risen over 60 times since 2017 when North Korean hackers started hacking cryptocurrency exchanges, North Korea is using the stolen cryptocurrency from the perspective of long-term investment. For North Korea, cryptocurrency

2021-12-30Deep Dive

Robinhood to Roll Out Crypto Wallets Beta in January 2022

Robinhood has finally announced the approximate date for rolling out the beta test version of their cryptocurrency wallets – something that the SHIB community has been looking forward to since late September, hoping that the app will list this meme crypto.　　According to the Sept. 22 announcement, these wallets would allow trading, as well as sending and receiving crypto on the app.　　Meanwhile, over 1.6 million people have signed up on the waitlist for these wallets already. Less than one million people signed up in one month.　　Beta trials to commence in mid-January　　As alpha tests are over now, the beta version of the wallets will be launched in just a few weeks – in the middle of January next year. According to a survey that Robinhood conducted among its users, customers who tested the alpha version, they would like Robinhood to provide educational content on crypto so they can understand terms like “transaction ID” and “network fees.”　　So, for this educational purpose, the app will expand its Robinhood Learn articles to cover crypto in addition to regular asset classes.　　 Extra security for wallets　　The blog post by Robinhood states that there will be a separate wallet for every cryptocurrency traded on the app. The survey

2021-12-30Deep Dive

All you should know about Astroport–AMM built to become Terra ecosystem’s DeFi liquidity hub

Astroport will allow users to opt between different pool types within a single AMM system while leveraging support for all of Terras asset types.　　The stage is set for the swap and pooling functionality launch, as $1.2 billion in liquidity was successfully migrated from Terra‘s DEX Terraswap to Astroport’s smart contracts.ASTRO generators dual distribution model　　Like many DeFi protocols out there, Astroport has its own governance token–ASTRO.　　Holders who choose to stake their governance tokens in the ASTRO pool will be granted voting power on matters relevant to the communities surrounding the protocol. This power can be amplified if holders opt for locking their ASTRO tokens for the duration of up to two years–while also benefiting from an additional share of trading fees, as well as boosted liquidity mining rewards.　　ASTRO, which will be distributed to LPs through liquidity mining, will be ‘emitted’ at a predetermined rate from the Astral Assembly–Astroports version of a DAO.　　Since, on a pool-specific basis, LPs stand to receive different governance tokens from both Astroport and extrinsic DeFi communities, the protocol introduced proxy-based smart contracts called ‘ASTRO generators’ that allow a double set of incentives.　　According to the protocols recent announcement, ASTRO generators allowing simultaneous farming of ASTRO tokens and other

2021-12-29Deep Dive

...

353355

...

737