Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Terra (LUNA) hits record $20B TVL, surpassing Binance Smart Chain

Terra becomes the second-biggest DeFi chain in terms of total value locked after Ethereum.　　Terra (LUNA), an open-source stablecoin network, hit an all-time high of $20.05 billion in total value locked, or TVL, across its 13 product offerings, according to industry data. On Dec. 1, Terras TVL was at $11.9 billion, signifying a 68% increase in less than a month. This means that the platforms users are investing in large quantities into the protocol to receive staking rewards.　　The price of LUNA, Terras native token, is also steadily trending upwards, trading above $94 with a 31% increase in one week, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro. The coin now has a total market capitalization of $34.8 billion, placing it in the top 10 crypto projects.　　LUNA continues to be one of cryptos hottest performers. Source: Cointelegraph Markets Pro　　In terms of TVL, Terra is now the second-largest DeFi network below Ethereum and above Binance Smart Chain. For reference, BSC has 225 products in its DeFi ecosystem and a TVL of $16.7 billion, which has been decreasing all month, while Ethereum has $155.7 billion in TVL.　　Related: Price analysis 12/22: BTC, ETH, BNB, SOL, ADA, XRP, LUNA, AVAX, DOT, DOGE　　Terra is an application-specific blockchain built on the

2021-12-24Deep Dive

US lawmaker planning to introduce comprehensive crypto bill in 2022: report

Cynthia Lummis proposed bill reportedly aims to provide regulatory clarity on stablecoins, guide regulators around asset classes and offer consumer protections.　　Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the United States lawmakers behind many pro-crypto pieces of legislation, is planning to introduce a comprehensive bill next year to handle digital assets.　　In a Thursday report, Bloomberg said Lummis proposed bill aimed to provide regulatory clarity on stablecoins, guide regulators as to which cryptos belong to different asset classes and offer consumer protections. In addition, the U.S. senator reportedly proposed creating an organization under the joint jurisdiction of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to oversee the crypto market.　　On Twitter, Lummis called for U.S. voters to reach out to their respective senators to support the bill, saying she was looking for bipartisan cosponsors. The Wyoming senator — despite being a staunch conservative who voted against a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol and not to impeach the former president — has previously worked with Democrats Mark Warner and Kyrsten Sinema to attempt to “fix” the definition of broker in the infrastructure bill signed into law in November.　　Any legislation put forth in the Senate would

2021-12-24Deep Dive

Edging Closer to Mainstream Adoption: Bitcoin Processed More Transactions Than PayPal in 2021

In 2009, Bitcoin was launched to give people an alternative means of sending money over the internet free from central control. Since then, the journey has been for the crypto to find mainstream adoption just like traditional currencies.　　Thirteen years down the line, Bitcoins original plan is being actualized. According to a recent report, in 2021 Bitcoin processed more transactions than PayPal – one of the biggest payment platforms in the world.　　According to the research, Bitcoin processed approximately $489 billion in transactions per quarter of 2021. On the other hand, PayPal completed an estimated average of $302 billion per quarter – 60% less than what Bitcoin handled.　　Can Bitcoin Flip Mastercard and Visa？　　While flipping PayPal is no doubt an impressive feat, payment agencies Mastercard and Visa lie far ahead of the pack in transaction processing. Per quarter in 2021, Mastercard processed an average of $1.8 trillion, while Visa completed $3.2 trillion.　　For Bitcoin to flip industry leaders Mastercard and Visa, there has to be significant growth in the Bitcoin network. For example, an increase in the number of transactions, average amount per transaction, and BTC price would lead to an overall increase in the transaction processed.　　With the adoption and price of Bitcoin predicted

2021-12-24Deep Dive

42% of Cross-Border Firms Use Blockchain-Based Smart Contracts That Trigger Payment

Decentralized finance solutions have transformed the payments landscape, presenting a new vista of possibilities for seamless cross-border expansion for multinationals and businesses aspiring to launch new global initiatives.　　Cross-border firms have many use cases for cryptocurrency and blockchain. The leading use case is blockchain-based smart contracts that trigger payment, which 42% of businesses currently employ and 13% more would like to start using in the future, according to “Cryptocurrency, Blockchain and Cross-Border Payments,” a PYMNTS and Circle collaboration based on extensive surveys of executives at 250 multinational businesses and 250 financial institutions.　　The second most common use case for cryptocurrency and/or blockchain is cross-border payments, which 37% of businesses currently do and another 13% want to begin doing. Other common ways that multinational firms utilize cryptocurrency and blockchain include asset management and other payments.　　The greater the number of countries in which firms operate, the greater the likelihood that they use cryptocurrency and/or blockchain for these purposes. For example, 69% of businesses that operate in more than 10 countries use smart contracts that trigger payment, as do 61% of those that operate in six to 10 countries. This falls to just 37% among companies that operate in three to five countries, and 25%

2021-12-24Deep Dive

Bitmain Co-Founder Sees Crypto Industry Growing to Tens of Trillions of Dollars

Jihan Wu, the billionaire co-founder of mining giant Bitmain, told Forbes that the crypto market could end up reaching “tens of trillions.”　　In November, the total crypto market capitalization topped $3 trillion after recording mind-blowing gains earlier this year. It is currently sitting at $2.2 billion due to a market correction, with Bitcoin accounting for just a little over 40% of the sum.　　MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor recently predicted that the price of Bitcoin could reach $600,000.　　Stepping away from Bitmain　　Wu founded Matrixport back in 2019 after the hotly anticipated Bitmain initial public offering went awry.　　In July, Wu resigned from Bitmain after nasty infighting with fellow co-founder Micree Zhan. The two reached an amicable settlement, which included handing Wu control over cloud mining service Bitdeer.　　While reflecting on the power struggle, Wu says that Bitmain is doing “well” financially:　　“In August, Matrixport reached a valuation of more than $1 billion, becoming yet another cryptocurrency unicorn after wrapping up a $100 million funding round.”　　“Breathtaking” innovation　　While detractors tend to dismiss crypto as a speculative play, Wu is convinced that the tech behind it holds a lot of promise.　　He says that Satoshi Nakamotos Bitcoin white paper opened “a new world” of opportunities.　　Wu also described the decentralized finance industry,

2021-12-24Deep Dive

Top five most influential cryptocurrency people of 2021

The year 2021 has been one of the most exciting in the history of cryptocurrency. Crypto has fluctuated and thrived in such a way that investors have cashed out and the community has grown in size, with more people embracing digital assets than ever before.　　Influencers, celebrities and industry investors have grown to love cryptocurrency, but NFTs and DAOs. Likewise, some countries warmed up to cryptocurrency with El Salvador making Bitcoin a legal tender. On the other hand, other countries swung their sword at cryptocurrency.　　Today, cryptocurrency has more value than it did a year ago, let alone in the last decade. In 2021, the fallen crypto market saw the growth it deserved and Bitcoins price hit its all-time high of US$60,000 with the total cryptocurrency market cap crossing the preUS$1.5 trillion mark.　　While the cryptocurrency ecosystem is still developing and evolving, many notable personalities have played and continue to play a key role in its mainstream adoption. Lets find out the top five most influential cryptocurrency people including business leaders, and why crypto is greatly influenced by a network of individuals and a culture of people.　　How and why is cryptocurrency influenced by individuals？　　Generally, cryptocurrency can gain value on exchange platforms. It increases

2021-12-24Deep Dive

The crypto industry is poaching talent from Silicon Valley at an alarming rate

More and more executives and engineers are leaving their high-paying jobs in Silicon Valley to join crypto startups.　　According to a recent report from The New York Times, the rate at which the crypto industry is poaching talent from tech giants has left even Googles CEO worried and is forcing companies to offer additional incentives to employees to stop them from quitting.　　 It‘s not a get-rich-faster job, it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity　　Silicon Valley could soon face a significant shortage of talent. This is the take from a recent report from The New York Times, which looked at the number of high-ranking executives and engineers that left their high-paying jobs in Silicon Valley to join or start crypto companies.　　“There is a giant sucking sound coming from crypto,” said Sridhar Ramaswamy, chief executive of search engine start-up Neeva and a former Google executive, who competes with crypto companies for talent. “It feels a bit like the 1990s and the birth of the internet all over again. Its that early, that chaotic and that much full of opportunity.”　　This month, Lyft‘s CFO Brian Roberts left the company to join OpenSea, saying that he’d seen enough cycles to recognize when “something this big” is emerging. Jack Dorsey

2021-12-24Deep Dive

Facebook’s Meta plans on exploring NFTs and DAOs in 2022

Facebook’s parent company Meta is reportedly looking to achieve “deep compatibility” with blockchain technology, a New York Times report revealed this week.　　In a note to employees, Metas new CTO Andrew Bosworth laid out a vision for the social network to adopt and work with various blockchain and crypto technologies.Facebook‘s parent company is jumping on the crypto bandwagon　　While initially developed to take the power away from giants such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon, blockchain technology has recently become Silicon Valley’s main talking point. Some tech giants such as Google remain hesitant to employ technology that would essentially dilute its centralization. Others, however, seem more eager to connect with what the new Web3 movement has to offer.　　Meta, Facebooks parent company, is one of those companies. Its newest chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth, who is set to assume his position in 2022, has big plans for the company—and they include not sleeping on blockchain.　　The New York Times obtained a note Bosworth sent to employees earlier this week, in which he laid out a vision for Facebook to adopt and work with various blockchain and crypto technologies. And while he said that Meta should remain cautious and avoid dramatic changes, he noted that they

2021-12-24Deep Dive

Survey shows 44% of student loan borrowers plan to invest in crypto or NFTs

Since the onset of the student loan freeze in the US in March 2020, 18% of borrowers have been using the extra money to invest in crypto or NFTs, a recent study showed.　　College Finance, a company that provides information about student financing options, polled over 1.000 borrowers to investigate how are they preparing for the student loan payments resumption, and what they‘ve been doing with the pocketed money that didn’t need to go toward debt.　　Meanwhile, the Biden-Harris administration extended the student loan payment pause and interest waiver until May next year–helping 41 million borrowers save $5 billion per month.Extra money　　With the onset of the pandemic in the US, federal student loan interest rates have been set to 0% and payments have been paused.　　Surveyed borrowers were on average putting $385 toward their student loan debt on a monthly basis but since the pause, this money was repurposed by the majority–with only 12% reported continuing with payments. 　　Since the pause began, 18% of borrowers have been using the extra money theyve pocketed to invest in crypto or NFTs.　　Gen Zers (20%) were more likely to use the pocketed extra funds to invest in crypto and NFTs than millennials and Gen Xers (18% apiece).

2021-12-24Deep Dive

Crypto currency Trading Booms in Nigeria despite Government ban and provision of 'eNaira'.

The struggle by the Nigerian government to prevent the citizens from trading Crypto currency has not yielded the desired results. Many Nigerians have resorted to Decentralized platforms for Crypto currency trading. Nigerians are yet to fully embrace the new alternative to Crypto currency provided by the government as eNaira. The high rate of unemployment in Nigeria has led the youths to continue with the Crypto currency business. It is obvious that the only way to curb Crypto currency trading is to provide job alternative to the jobless youths and citizens.　　 Ban on Crypto currency Trading in Nigeria　　Earlier this year, on February 5th 2021, the CBN released an official statement that ordered all financial institutions to stop facilitating crypto transactions and desist from transacting with entities engaging in crypto. The statement also instructed all banks and financial institutions to close accounts of individuals or entities engaging in this type of transaction.　　The CBN warned in the letter that breaches of the directive will attract severe regulatory sanctions.　　This letter has afterwards sparked a lot of reactions and caused a lot of confusion amongst the people as to whether they can still deal legally in their Crypto business in Nigeria and engage in crypto

2021-12-23Deep Dive

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