Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

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

KYC-FREE BITCOIN CIRCULAR ECONOMIES: FREE THE MARKETS, FREE THE WORLD

WHAT IS A CIRCULAR ECONOMY？　　A Bitcoin circular economy is a free market where you can trade any products or services for bitcoin, including daily needs like food, jobs and housing.　　The state censors fiat markets via regulations, permits and KYC. In comparison, a Bitcoin circular economy is peer-to-peer and meritocratic — no state permission or government ID is required to participate.　　Practical examples include local Bitcoin marketplace groups in Telegram, a farmers market that accepts bitcoin, KYC-free apartment rentals or a Bitcoin health insurance. More use cases are covered in this article.BITCOIN FIXES THIS — A LIBERATORY CURRENCY FOR LIBERATORY MARKETS　　Bitcoin doesnt only separate money and state, it also separates markets and states. A Bitcoin circular economy is based only on supply and demand — no state regulations, bans, KYC, permits, subsidies or quotas are necessary. This creates meritocratic free markets, where your skills, ideas, character and effort matter more than the states permission.　　Bitcoin is the perfect currency for a truly free market. Bitcoin provides a secure, globally accessible, permissionless, peer-to-peer network to send, receive, earn, spend and save money — without third parties, government ID, censorship, seizures, high fees or long wait times. You can send money to anyone worldwide, which

2022-01-03Deep Dive

Bitcoin hashrate recovers, reaches new ATH

At the peak of Chinas crackdown on Bitcoin miners and trading activities within its jurisdiction last year, the Bitcoin mining hashrate declined to an all-time low of 58.4 million terahashes per second as many miners were taken out of business due to the strict anti-crypto policy.Bitcoin hashrate reaches new ATH　　However, a new Glassnode data has now revealed that the Bitcoin hashrate has now fully recovered from the lows of last year and has also gone ahead to set a new all-time high just two days into the new year. According to the data, the Bitcoin hashrate now sits at an all-time high of 208 million terahashes per second.　　Bitcoin hashrate refers to the amount of computational power dedicated to the minting of new coins, security and, verification of transactions on the network of the flagship digital asset.　　A higher hashrate usually signifies that there are more miners in the space looking to help secure the network; hence, some analysts tend to consider this a bullish sign for the industry.Bitfury says miners relocation is not responsible for the growth　　Speaking on how the industry has been able to shed the negatives of the previous year, a leading crypto mining firm, Bitfury, in a statement

2022-01-03Deep Dive

Binance, FTX To Dominate Bitcoin Futures in 2022, But DEXes Also Gaining Ground – Report

The major cryptocurrency exchange Binance will continue to dominate the bitcoin (BTC) futures market in 2022, with competition from FTX heating up. At the same time, more stringent regulations mean all centralized exchanges will be challenged by decentralized alternatives in the new year, crypto researcher Arcane Research has predicted.　　Activity in the market for bitcoin futures trading has undoubtedly been dominated by Binance over the past year, Arcane Research wrote in a new report. The exchange, which originally started as a spot-only exchange, was the largest bitcoin futures exchange by open interest for 308 days out of the 360 days covered, the report said, while also showing that the trend in market share has been up for Binance throughout the year.　　But while the popular exchange is gaining market share from some competitors, others are putting up a fight. Most notable among these is FTX, which has seen its share of open interest in the bitcoin futures market grow throughout the past year.　　Looking into the crystal ball for the next year, Arcane said that, 　　“Binance will maintain its position as the biggest bitcoin futures exchange by open interest,” but it will also “face fierce competition” from FTX.　　After consistent growth in its market

2022-01-02Deep Dive

El Salvador Bitcoin App Should Have Been Audited Long Ago, Claims Ex-Central Bank Chief

A former Governor of the central bank of El Salvador has claimed that the state-run Chivo bitcoin (BTC) app would have already been shut down by regulators if it were a private company.　　According to El Diario de Hoy, the ex-head of the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador Carlos Acevedo has hit out at the state-run company that operates the wallet. Chivo, newspaper and social media reports claim, has been plagued with bugs that have affected functionality. Merchants have complained that payments using the app have failed, while claims of widespread identity theft have become commonplace.　　Many public figures who say they have never used or downloaded the app say their personal details have been used by online crooks intent on claiming the USD 30 worth of BTC to which all new Salvadoran users are entitled when they first use Chivo.　　Acevedo berated the fact that “no public institution has investigated” the alleged “problems” with the Chivo wallet – hinting that the app operator is enjoying protected status due to the fact that it is a state-owned company.　　He stated:　　“If that company were a [privately run] firm, at the very least the Superintendency of the Financial System and the Defensoría del Consumidor [the

2022-01-02Deep Dive

Crypto in 2022 Will Bring New and Older Emergent Trends to the Fore

Crypto is an emergent phenomenon. Put simply, this means it has properties that we cant extrapolate from the properties of its parts, or to put it even more simply, no one knows exactly what crypto will do in the future.　　Still, this doesnt stop analysts and other observers from hazarding predictions, given how much money could be at stake. And given that 2021 threw up so many new, emergent trends in crypto and related sectors, from non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to the metaverse and Web 3.0, so it stands to reason that 2022 will do something similar.　　But while industry players speaking with Cryptonews.com agree that the New Year will produce trends that have remained marginal up until now, they also expect many of last years emergent trends to mature and gain even more steam. And this will help attract new money and interest to the sector, a change which in turn will set off new emergent trends of its own.New emergent trends in crypto　　When it comes to newer emergent trends, opinion differs quite widely on what sub-sectors will become more prominent in 2022. This isn‘t perhaps surprising, seeing as how we’re dealing with the inherently unpredictable (and seeing as how different industry

2022-01-02Deep Dive

Which crypto and blockchain companies could IPO in 2022?

It seems 2022 could most definitely be another potent year for stock market debuts (IPOs) as many well-capitalised crypto-related and blockchain companies head for the exit.　　Next ‘Tesla’ or ‘Amazon’ IPO could possibly offer similar levels of stratospheric upside but also heaps of money lost.　　Reports show that in the period between 1975 and 2011, more than 60% of newly public companies saw negative returns after five years.　　Some of the top picks for who we think could go public next year are:Stripe　　With the valuation of $95 bn, Stripe could go public already in the first half of 2022.　　In November, the company commented it is open to accepting crypto for payments, three years after ending Bitcoin support.　　In its last funding round, Stripe managed to raise $600m with a $95bn of valuation, this could make this company one of the biggest IPOs in history thanks mainly to rocketing demand for e-commerce due to the pandemic.Databricks　　Valued at approximately $28bn, this data management blockchain company could go public in early 2022.　　The company claims to have more than 5,000 clients in 19 countries and says its on track to generate $1bn plus in 2022 revenue, up more than 75% year over year.Cybereason　　Boston-based cybersecurity company Cybereason has a

2022-01-02Deep Dive

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