Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Vladimir Putin: The Risks Related to Cryptocurrencies Are Very High

The President of the Russian Federation – Vladimir Putin – believes bitcoin and the alternative coins bear high risks for investors. However, he predicted that the asset class might play a significant role in the future financial network.　　‘The Volatility Is Colossal’　　The 69-year-old politician aired his thoughts about the cryptocurrency space during the “Russian Calling” investment forum in Moscow, reported by RBC. According to Putin, private digital assets are highly volatile, which makes them a risky investment instrument:　　“It is not backed by anything, the volatility is colossal, so the risks are very high. We also believe that we need to listen to those who talk about those big risks.”　　The volatile nature of most cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, is indeed present. However, the leading digital asset is a relatively new token, and it could overcome its price fluctuations in the upcoming years, especially if authorities impose a comprehensive regulatory framework on it.　　Anthony Scaramucci – SkyBridge Capitals CEO – is a supporter of this thesis. He recently compared BTC to Amazon, reminding that the e-commerce giant was also unstable in its early days but is now one of the most influential companies.　　While criticizing cryptocurrencies, though, Putin did not rule out the possibility that they

2021-12-02Deep Dive

SEC Chair: Innovation Around DeFi "Could Be Real"

U.S. Securities and Exchange Chair Gary Gensler said that new technologies do not tend to persist if they fail to come into compliance with the law during a fireside chat with Jay Clayton at the Digital Asset Compliance t persist if they stay outside of the regulatory framework.”　　Gensler also voiced his concerns about the centralization of some DeFi projects and implied that the goal of such projects might be to skirt existing anti-money laundering laws.　　Speaking of the regulators reluctance to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, Gensler told No. 42 that trading around the globe is not inside the U.S. regulatory register. He urged the trading and lending platform to “come in and talk”:　　“Trading and lending platforms are really in an important place for investor and consumer protection. Come in and talk to us… work with us. Where appropriate well use the enforcement tool. Work to get registered with the law.”　　The SEC boss has reiterated that stablecoins remind him of poker chips at a casino:　　“[Stablecoins] made it more efficient within the ecosystem. But it also allowed people around the globe, the people who tried to, to avoid money laundering and tax compliance in jurisdiction after jurisdiction.”　　According to Gensler, stablecoins are

2021-12-02Deep Dive

5 Ways Fraud Is Possible on Blockchain

A blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology wherein a shared digital ledger makes transactions visible and transparent. For years, blockchain was touted by futurists as a way to stop fraud from happening. However, blockchain also has several qualities that make it prime for various scams by bad actors—irreversibility, lack of laws, and anonymity.　　So while blockchain makes it possible to see an assets history of ownership and make it relatively easier to identify fraud, it doesnt make it impossible.Is Blockchain Safe？　　Whether blockchain is safe depends on several factors, which may or may not put you at risk of fraud. While blockchain technology is built for security, its safety limitations are rooted in two things—the security features of its supporting technology and the human aspect of its use.　　Unfortunately, international laws have not yet adapted to the rise of blockchain use. Unlike credit cards and debit cards, blockchain-enabled cryptocurrency transactions in most countries do not have legal protections. In fact, crypto transactions typically do not include a dispute process, cannot be canceled, and are not reversible.　　Knowing this, here are the five ways that fraud is possible on blockchain that you should be aware of.1. Crypto-Malware　　As crypto becomes more common, it also

2021-12-02Deep Dive

Grayscale launches Solana (SOL) trust after 11,000% rally in past year

The worlds largest digital currency asset manager, Grayscale Investments, recently announced the launch of its sixteenth investment product that will be tracking the performance of Solana.　　Often referred to as one of the “Ethereum killer” networks, the Proof of History (PoH) blockchain built by Solana Labs gained traction by leveraging fast transactions at low cost and minimal energy consumption.Grayscale Solana Trust　　Solely and passively invested in Solana, the new trust joined the long list of the companys single-asset investment products, which provide exposure to Bitcoin, Ethereum, Chainlink, Decentraland, and Filecoin, to name a few.　　“We have had a front-row seat to the mainstream acceptance and adoption of crypto, and increasingly find that investors are diversifying their exposure beyond digital assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Our family of Grayscale products will continue to expand alongside this exciting asset class, as we remain committed to offering investors opportunities to access the digital economy,” said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein. 　　According to the announcement, the product is already available for daily subscriptions by the eligible individuals and institutional accredited investors.Hitting ‘escape velocity　　Covering everything from DeFi and Web3 applications to games and NFTs, with over 350 projects built on Solana, the network’s ecosystem continues expanding.　　An impressive 11,000% rally

2021-12-02Deep Dive

Cardano (ADA) hits milestone of 20 million transactions, but when are dApps coming?

Cardano just hit a major milestone by processing its twenty millionth transaction. Whats more impressive is that this was accomplished without a single outage in its four-year history.　　Despite this achievement, recent weeks have seen confidence in Cardano sink as the price of ADA struggles to gain a foothold.　　Since Alonzo smart contracts were rolled out on September 12, ADA has been caught in a downtrend, with little sign of a fightback from bulls.　　The weekend saw the price hit a 16-week low, at $1.42, leading to a strong bounce, where ADA has been trading in a narrow band between $1.55 and $1.63 since.　　Some have blamed the poor price action on a lack of dApps, particularly the difficulty of using the Haskell programming language. But is there any truth to this？Cardano under fire for difficulties in using Haskell　　A recent Reddit post by u/mask45 called out the lack of dApps on Cardano since Alonzo went live 11 weeks ago.　　The most upvoted comment mentioned Haskell as a significant reason for this. This user concluded by saying Haskell is unnecessarily difficult to code for and unpopular with programmers, unlike Ethereums Solidity.　　Since then, Cardano supporters have rallied to dismiss such claims as FUD. For example, one Reddit

2021-12-02Deep Dive

New Crypto and Blockchain Association Launches in Iran

A recently established crypto industry association in Iran has commenced activities under the country‘s chamber of commerce. Its management hopes to help remove obstacles challenging its members while facilitating the implementation of blockchain technology in the sanctioned nation’s economy.ndustry Association to Address Blockchain-Related Challenges in Iran　　The newly-established Iran Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Association (IBCA) has started operating under the supervision of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mining and Agriculture (ICCIMA), the English-language business daily Financial Tribune reported. According to the publication, the IBCA is the first organization affiliated with the chamber that is dealing with challenges facing Irans growing blockchain ecosystem.　　The launch was announced by Mohammad Reza Sharafi, member of the associations board, who expressed hope that the IBCA would be able to remove hurdles faced by businesses in the crypto space and use blockchain technology in the interest of the Iranian economy. Speaking to the Way2pay website portal, Sharafi also elaborated:　　There are a variety of issues related to the development of the innovative technology in Iran. Concerted efforts have been made to maximize the benefits of this sector for the economy… We need to work closely to ensure the use of the potential of the technology without monopolizing it.　　The organization‘s

2021-12-01Deep Dive

Terra (LUNA) is in full expansion with over $1.9 billion in TVL

Blockchain project Terra and its native token LUNA have quickly moved from the sidelines to the forefront of DeFi. With over $1.9 billion in TVL, its the fifth largest blockchain project, trailing closely behind Avalanche.　　With several major fundamental developments underway, LUNA saw its price increase by over 50% in the past week, with industry insiders believing that this is just the start of a major bull run set to take place in the following weeks.What‘s behind LUNA’s major rally？　　After Bitcoin took a massive hit last week, dropping dangerously close to its coveted $50,000 resistance levels, the rest of the market went into the red alongside it. However, the major drag downwards doesnt seem to have affected LUNA, the native token of the Terra blockchain.　　The Layer-1 blockchain platform has quickly risen from the sidelines to the forefront of DeFi, riding a wave of extreme interest in its innovative stablecoin products. Terra enables users to swap their LUNA tokens for a wide variety of stablecoins pegged to different fiat currencies. As minting $1 worth of UST requires burning $1 worth of LUNA, an increasing supply of stablecoins on Terra decreases the circulating supply of LUNA, thus raising its value.　　This simple proposal has

2021-12-01Deep Dive

Jack Dorsey’s Twitter exit sparks speculation of full-time Bitcoin role

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey announced on Monday that hes resigning his position at the company, sparking rumors of moving into a dedicated crypto role.　　In a resignation letter posted on the social media platform, Dorsey spoke about the limitations of founder-led companies, saying he believes such setups are severely limiting and risky, in the sense, they are a single point of failure.　　He also mentioned key personnel in Parag Agrawal and Bret Taylor, which he said hes confident can lead Twitter in the right direction for future growth and success, making his resignation all the more tenable.　　I want you to all know that this was my decision and I own it. It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company…and all of you so very much. Im really sad…yet really happy.　　…I know well prove this was the right move.　　With that in mind, whats next for Dorsey？Dorsey‘s pro-crypto outlook　　Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Miami in June, Dorsey said he’d be working on Bitcoin if it wasnt for Square or Twitter. Although, he also said both companies have “a role to play,” as far as crypto adoption is concerned.　　“If I were not at Square or Twitter Id

2021-12-01Deep Dive

BITCOIN IS NOT JUST ABOUT FREEDOM FROM INTERFERENCE, IT REQUIRES ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

Negative freedom (also known as liberal freedom) is freedom from interference. There can be a master (a king, central authority, government, etc.), but as long as the master is benign and does not interfere, you are considered free.　　To secure negative freedom, you need positive freedoms, but not for the same reasons as liberal thinkers have understood them. Defining freedom solely in the liberal sense brings out the traps that can be used arbitrarily. To overcome this predicament, Quentin Skinner and Philip Pettit offer a third alternative conception of freedom: freedom as non-domination.　　In a recent conversation with Lex Fridman, Human Rights Foundation Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein defined freedom (and Bitcoin freedom) as dichotomies: negative and positive. This duality was introduced by Isaiah Berlin, following Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Benjamin Constant. Gladstein named speech, press, assembly, belief, participation in government, privacy and property as negative liberties. On the other hand, positive liberties are the rights to work, housing, water and vacation.　　Because Gladsteins definition relies on the dichotomy that Berlin proposed in his seminal essay, “Two Concepts Of Liberty,” he unfairly marked positive freedoms as entitlements, like those granted in Cuba, Venezuela and the Soviet Union. Again, similar to Berlins attack

2021-12-01Deep Dive

FIRST BITCOIN ETF TO PAY MONTHLY YIELD LAUNCHES IN CANADA

Canadian investors can now receive a monthly bitcoin yield through a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), reported Yahoo Finance. The Purpose Bitcoin Yield ETF employs a derivatives-based covered call strategy to pay investors a monthly yield.　　The fund was created by Purpose Investments, the asset manager that launched the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in North America. The pioneering product launched in February broke records in its opening week after trading $80 million worth of shares within the first hour and $200 million on its first day.　　The firms new bitcoin yield offering began trading today on the TSX under the ticker symbol BTCY.B with a management fee of 1.10%.　　Purpose Investments said it couldnt guarantee the yield paid out per month because of volatility, but it expects an annual yield of between eight and ten percent, per the report. The yield is classified as income in registered accounts.　　When asked to what kind of investor the fund would appeal, chief operating officer and head of product at Purpose Investments, Vlad Tasevski, told Yahoo Finance that investors should consider the ETF “if they want to earn yield while they hold them” as it allows the generation of “additional

2021-12-01Deep Dive

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