Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

UK Inflation Hits 10-Year High After Bank Of England Warns Bitcoin Could Become Worthless

The inflation rate in the UK has risen 5.1% to hit a 10-year high.　　Crypto enthusiasts proffer Bitcoin to hedge against inflation.　　The UK central banker, The Bank of England, remains unreceptive to Bitcoin, however.　　The United Kingdom has been hit by surging inflation figures. According to data published by the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS), the inflation rate is at a 10-year high. For November, the consumer price index, which is a key measure of inflation, climbed 5.1% month-on-month, up from 4.2% in October.　　The major causes for the rise that the ONS points to for the larger than normal rate spike were increases in the price of transportation, food, clothing, and footwear.　　The inflation figure has been published at a time when the Bank of England‘s (BoE’s) Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet to decide if it is going to move to tighten its monetary policy. It remains uncertain if a decision will be reached to begin quantitative easing in the economy as the meeting was planned for before the emergence of the Omicron variant, hence analysts are split over what the BoEs decision should be.　　Bitcoin can come to the rescue　　Meanwhile, Bitcoin proponents have taken the rising inflation rate to point

2021-12-17Deep Dive

Billionaire Ray Dalio Says Bitcoin is the Alternative to Gold for Younger Generations

The former crypto skeptic not only revealed holding a small portion of Bitcoin (BTC) but also commending how far the flagship cryptocurrency has come since its inception. He outlined the fact that it has never been “hacked” or suffered a breach.　　Bitcoin Has Imputed Value　　Calling it an amazing accomplishment for Bitcoin, the billionaire said in a recent interview with MarketWatch that he believes in blockchain technology because it has “earned credibility.”　　Dalio is among the most influential and successful hedge fund managers of all time. However, he was not always a fan of Bitcoin. But now, he admitted having a “little bit” of the cryptocurrency in his portfolio.　　While on the topic of investment portfolios, Dalio also mentioned that Bitcoin is almost a younger generations alternative to Gold and added,　　“..a portfolio should start off with, under a worst-case scenario, what assets protect it and make sure it‘s diversified. It’s almost a younger generations alternative to gold and it has no intrinsic value, but it has imputed value and it has, therefore, some merit.”　　Having said that, Dalio stated that several issues concern Bitcoin. He predicted that some governments may outlaw the cryptocurrency if they feel it threatens the establishment or when it becomes “relatively

2021-12-17Deep Dive

Russia Mulls Crypto Ban: Report

Russias central bank is seeking to impose a ban on cryptocurrency investing, according to a Reuters report that cites sources familiar with the matter.　　Investors will be prohibited from making new purchases, but the ban will not extend to existing crypto holdings, as per the report.　　Earlier this month, the Bank of Russia banned mutual funds from investing in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.　　In July, the central bank asked stock exchanges to refrain from listing both foreign and domestic cryptocurrency-oriented companies due to high volatility, insufficient liquidity and regulatory risks.　　A source cited by Reuters claims that Russias central bank uncompromisingly rejects cryptocurrencies.　　In June, Oliver Hughes, CEO of Russian leading online bank Tinkoff, told CNBC that it could not offer crypto trading to its customers because of the Bank of Russias policies:　　“Theres no mechanism for us to offer that product to them in Russia at the moment because the central bank has got this very tough position.”　　In July 2020, Russian lawmakers banned using cryptocurrencies as a means of payment while also outlining the legal status of the new asset class.　　As reported by U.Today, Alexei Moiseev, Russias deputy finance minister, said there were no plans to ban residents from trading cryptocurrencies in October. At the

2021-12-17Deep Dive

IMF Chief Economist Says Not To Ban Crypto

Gita Gopinath – Chief Economist for the International Monetary Fund – recently said that developing economies should refrain from banning crypto. Instead, she called global regulation of the industry “the need of the hour”.　　The Global Challenge of Crypto　　Gopinath outlined the regulatory difficulties around crypto at an event by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Wednesday. She said that global policy on crypto is an urgent need to address the challenges the technology poses to emerging markets.　　Moreover, she said banning them was simply impractical, given the global presence that exchanges possess.　　“Regulating crypto assets and currencies is essential, especially for emerging and developing economies, as banning them may not work as crypto exchanges are located offshore, which makes it easier for an individual to trade in them despite the ban,” she said.　　Gopinath placed emphasis on making a ‘global’ policy around crypto, as cross-border transactions make any single nations regulations against it quite weak. They can be used to evade “exchange rate controls, capital controls, and capital flow measures,” she said.　　Michael Saylor – CEO of MIcroStrategy, the worlds largest owner of Bitcoin – has highlighted this exact property as extremely helpful from a business perspective. Unlike real estate, Bitcoin can

2021-12-17Deep Dive

How MetaGods is aiming to disrupt play-to-earn gaming

Featuring multiplayer online action, MetaGods brings exploration and the slaying of mythical monsters into one tidy package for a gaming experience like no other.　　While it‘s still relatively early days in terms of realizing the project’s complete vision, with plans to introduce earning elements such as DeFi farming, it has the edge over standard P2E games.What is MetaGods？　　The MetaGods aesthetics follow a retro 8-bit theme reminiscent of 80s classics such as Ghosts and Goblins or Gauntlet.　　But whats decidedly modern about MetaGods is the NFT ownership experience. Each minted NFT character has randomly generated stats and equipment made up of weaponry and armor. Complete battles and loot dungeons to upgrade, with the goal to become a true god.　　As well as that, the game offers both player-versus-player and player-versus-environment modes, enabling users to choose between social and solo challenges.　　“The more you play, the more you earn! Level up and customize your character NFT to become a god of the metaverse.”　　The highest earners come from hardcore multiplayer raids in high APY dungeons. Youll often find upgraded weaponry or magic-resistant armor during such missions. Special items tend to be hidden during these raids as well.　　Casual gamers can stake in pools and earn $RELIC tokens passively.

2021-12-16Deep Dive

All you need to know to invest in DeFi

According to Footprint Analytics, DeFi has a TVL of $274.4 billion as of Nov. 23, 2021，while that was only $13 billion one year ago.　　The rapid development and growth of DeFi has cheered all those involved in the blockchain space, resulting in a large number of investment institutions. As of press date, the accumulated funding amount since 2021 totals $24.8 billion, compared to that in 2020 of $3.4 billion, a 626% increase.　　So what is this powerful beast known as DeFi？What is DeFi？　　DeFi is an acronym for Decentralized Finance, also known as Open Finance. With the rapid development of blockchain, its application scenarios are being enriched, among which finance is the most promising industry. It actually refers to the decentralized protocol used to build an open financial system, aiming to allow anyone in the world to participate regardless of time and place.CeFi vs DeFi　　In brief, DeFI is to duplicate traditional finance into the blockchain network. Different from traditional finance, it achieves decentralization through blockchain and uses smart contracts to replace the privileged institutions in traditional finance, where users can enjoy financial services at a lower cost and higher efficiency. As shown below, all kinds of services of open finance can be found

2021-12-16Deep Dive

This Bitcoin on-chain analyst says retail hasn’t “bought the dip this hard” since the Covid crash

While the Bitcoin price continues to stubbornly move sideways, market watchers are wondering how the year will end–is there time for another rally or will the support at $46.000 cave？　　Despite the tight trading range over the past two weeks, popular Bitcoin on-chain analyst Willy Woo pointed out indicators that are showing no signs of a bear market.Meaningful price bounce ahead？　　According to Woo, retail investors are taking advantage of the bearish price action–buying the dip more than usual.　　“The last time retail bought the dip this hard was at the bottom of the COVID crash,” wrote Woo on Twitter, while posting a retail accumulation chart.　　“Probably nothing,” he added, leaving it up to his 925.400 followers to decide for themselves whether the metric is signaling a bullish momentum could soon return.　　“True bear markets happen not from sellers but when we are out of buyers,” he concluded.No signs of a further sell-off cascade　　Earlier this week, Woo already pointed out that the on-chain investor demand is showing no signs of a bear market.　　“Long term holders have been selling down and taking profits, but as a cohort they continue to be in a region of peak accumulation,” wrote Woo in his last newsletter. 　　Long term holders

2021-12-16Deep Dive

U.S. Student Loan Repayments Restart in February, 44% of Borrowers Will Invest in Crypto

The final extension of the pause on student loan repayments in the U.S., interest, and collections ends on January 31, 2022. Officials had stalled student loan repayments in 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 lockdowns when the economy was at a near standstill. Government educational loan officials said the additional time and fixed end date empowered borrowers to plan for resuming payments, while reducing delinquency and defaults after the restart on February 1, 2022.　　Anyone with college debt would agree that student loans can be a major headache for borrowers. As the extended student loan hiatus comes to an end, CollegeFinance.com polled more than 1,000 student loan borrowers to analyze how theyre preparing to resume their payments. Surprisingly, the researchers found a few interesting connections between repayment plans, age groups, crypto, and NFTs. The highlights include:　　Nearly 45% of surveyed borrowers plan to invest in crypto or NFTs in preparation for payments to resume – Gen Zers were most likely to attempt this strategy　　Since the pause began, 18% of borrowers have been using the extra money theyve pocketed to invest in crypto or NFTs　　Nearly 1-in-10 plan to use crypto and/or NFT earnings to make their payments when the pause is up　　Overall, only

2021-12-16Deep Dive

The Future of Work in the Digital Metaverse

As 2022 rolls into view, one trend that seems set to stay the distance into the new year and beyond is the digital metaverse. The term itself was unknown to most people outside the tech, and perhaps more specifically, the blockchain and crypto scene, before October.　　However, since Facebook cemented its metaverse ambitions with a name change to Meta Platforms, its barely been out of the headlines. Most recently, sports apparel brands have been leaping onto the bandwagon. In mid-December, Nike announced it had acquired virtual footwear platform RTFKT as part of its own metaverse ambitions, while rival Adidas had already tweeted of a partnership with several high-profile NFT companies some weeks before.　　For existing operators in the metaverse space, this is proving to be great news. One industry insider compared the current land grab on virtual real estate to buying property in Manhattan in the 1800s, indicating just how much promise some believe still awaits. An ambitious blockchain-slash-VR project called NetVRk is aiming high – in a promotional video, the narrator speaks of future use cases involving its token economy and VR headset, including training simulations, education, architecture, product demonstrations, and more.　　A New Virtual World of Opportunity　　The internet created an entirely

2021-12-16Deep Dive

Tanzanian Central Bank Governor: Cryptocurrencies Not Outlawed, Traders Should Invest at Own Risk

The Tanzanian central bank governor recently revealed that cryptocurrencies are not outlawed in the country but warned those dabbling in crypto-related investments that they do so at their own risk.　　Central Bank Open to Ideas　　The governor of the Bank of Tanzania (BOT), Florens Luoga, recently stated that the central bank has not outlawed cryptocurrencies and that those putting money into crypto-related investments are doing so at their own risk.　　Also, in his remarks published by The Citizen, Luoga revealed that the BOT — which is now exploring the possibility of issuing a digital currency — is nonetheless open to any ideas on how it can regulate cryptocurrencies.　　“We can‘t outlaw something that we are not yet competent with or regulate a game that we don’t really know how it is played. We have not reached a position where we can costerise [sic] cryptos, but we welcome applications from interested parties. All should feel free to present their ideas for consideration,” Luoga is quoted explaining.　　By asking for the opinion of interested parties, Luoga appears to be reiterating an earlier promise to heed President Samia Suluhu Hasan‘s call on the country’s finance chiefs to prepare for crypto. As reported by Bitcoin.com News in July, after

2021-12-16Deep Dive

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