Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Eurosystem Publishes New Oversight Framework

The European Central Bank (ECB)s Governing Council has today announced a new oversight framework for electronic payments.　　ECB Regulatory Framework Published　　The ECBs oversight framework for electric payment instruments, schemes, and arrangements (PISA) replaces the current Eurosystem oversight approach for payment instruments to oversee companies “enabling or supporting the use of payment cards, credit transfers, direct debits, e-money transfers and digital payment tokens, including electronic wallets,” as well as “crypto-asset related services,” such as merchants accepting cryptocurrencies as payment or the use of an electronic wallet for sending, receiving, or paying with cryptocurrencies.　　According to the published framework, the Eurosystem has deemed payment instrument innovation, presumably including crypto payments, sufficient for extending the scope of current oversight. As an ECB executive board member Fabio Panetta said, “The retail payments ecosystem is evolving fast owing to innovation and technological change. This calls for a forward-looking approach in overseeing digital payment solutions.” Panetta said this includes “digital payment tokens such as stablecoins.”　　Panetta went on to emphasize the importance of international coordination “to cope with the challenges posed by global digital payment solutions and stablecoins.” The ECBs press release included that cooperation with “other authorities” was one of its aims, and companies already subjected to Eurosystem

2021-11-23Deep Dive

Nigeria’s eNaira stablecoin becomes focus of new IMF report

Nigeria‘s central bank digital currency project, eNaira, is drawing attention and interest of leading financial institutions and it also gaining traction amongst other country’s central banks looking to initiate a similar project according to a report released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF)　　 eNaira to boost remittance　　The report, authored by economist Jack Ree, explained why Nigerias eNaira has lately been drawing interest from around the globe. According to the report, one of the reasons for the interest in the project is because of the control the Nigerian apex bank has over the digital currency, unlike other crypto assets.　　It continued that unlike volatile digital coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others whose value, funnily, have been depreciating in the past few days, the eNairas value is tied to that of the physical naira.　　Keying into Nigerias central bank claim that the CBDC project would boost remittance and at the same time lead to an increase in financial inclusion for the West African country, IMF in its report said;　　“The e-naira is expected to lower remittance transfer costs, making it easier for the Nigerian diaspora to remit funds to Nigeria by obtaining eNaira from international money transfer operators and transferring them to recipients in Nigeria

2021-11-22Deep Dive

Foreign Access to a Country’s CBDC Could Result in Serious Consequences: World Economic Forum

The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the results of a study on central bank digital currencies (CBDC), with one of the key conclusions relating to the risks of foreign access to a nation‘s CBDC. The whitepaper released is one of many that fall under the WEF’s Digital Currency Governance Consortium (DCGC) white paper series.　　Like other reports and statements in the past, the WEF believes that there are macroeconomic risks associated with cross-border CBDCs. It states that,“significant foreign access to a countrys CBDC could result in serious unintended consequences to both the home country and foreign countries.”　　CBDC risks　　Specifically, it lists currency appreciation/depreciation and exchange rate volatility, cybersecurity, high operation and overhead costs, tax avoidance, and currency substitution as some of the risks with these assets. As for stablecoins, which is not the main focus of this particular whitepaper, it also sees them as posing issues for emerging economies.　　However, it does not suggest that CBDCs be dismissed outright, but that governments and regulators need to identify and develop policies and tools to curb any spillover impacts and risks. With more CBDC announcements being made, this will only become more apparent.　　The DCGC is a global, multi-sector set of more than 85 leading

2021-11-22Deep Dive

Will AMC Theaters Accept Shiba Inu For Movie Tickets?

Those that have dabbled in the stock market during the pandemic, or followed the trending headlines, have probably ran into AMC and it‘s massive jump during the 2020 pandemic. AMC now makes headlines once again in the crypto world, announcing it’s interest with hot crypto Shiba Inu. AMC Theatre CEO Adam Aron confirmed the company will begin accepting SHIB for online payment within the next two to four months.Big News & Future Moves…　　This was tweeted by AMC CEO Adam Aron as he revealed that he personally lobbied BitPay, the blockchain payments company used by AMC Theatres, to support Shiba Inu. The token has seen a lot of mainstream acceptance and seen big jumps in the past few weeks and months.　　According to Aron‘s tweet, cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay is adding Shiba Inu “specifically” so that AMC could accept the meme-inspired cryptocurrency for online payments of movie tickets and concessions. Aron had earlier posted a Twitter poll in late October asking if the company should accept Shiba Inu payments and a resounding 81.4 percent of people voted ’Yes – this then sparked the next move.　　Posted from the twitter account of AMC CEO Adam Aron:　　Attention #SHIBArmy: Our friends @Bitpay decided to support Shiba

2021-11-22Deep Dive

Argentina introduces a crypto tax regime on back of El Salvador’s Bitcoin story

Countries around the world are now waking up to how the crypto space could play a pivotal role in their wider economic life as a number of them are now introducing taxes for the space.　　The latest country to implement a tax regime for the space is Argentina whose authorities released an official notice on November 16 that will see crypto exchanges with bank accounts in the country charge 0.6% tax on every transaction.　　Argentinas new crypto tax regime　　According to details of the new tax rule, it would be subjected to the countrys cheque tax rule meaning all crypto-related transactions which could either be buying or selling made via a crypto exchange in the country would pay a 0.6% tax.　　Previously, Argentina had equated crypto transactions to be the same thing as cash transactions which made them free of any tax obligations. However, despite this exemption, crypto transactions were generally taxed under capital gains tax the country had introduced in 2017.　　“The exemptions provided for in this decree and in other regulations of a similar nature will not be applicable in those cases in which the movements of funds are linked to the purchase, sale, exchange, intermediation and/or any other operation on crypto assets,

2021-11-22Deep Dive

WHY BITCOIN IS GENERATIONAL WEALTH

The short film “Bitcoin Is Generational Wealth” by Matt Hornick and Tomer Strolight premiered on November 1, 2021, to shed light on the true value proposition of Bitcoin. While many projects in the world today seek to enrich their founding members and provide palpable profits in U.S. dollars for anyone who joins, the worlds most secure and robust monetary network aims to propel humanity forward based on the fundamental rights to property and freedom.　　As people around the world watched the film, many different reactions emerged. Bitcoiners, aware of the goal for which Bitcoin was brought to the world in 2009 as a direct response to the bailouts of central banks to financial institutions the year before, got emotive when seeing the future reality that proper sound money could enable.　　“The film stirred many emotions within the community, Twitter exploded with feedback and people sharing that they had been moved to tears,” Daniel Prince, host of the “Once BITten” podcast, said. “Hope was the main emotion shared in our home, a feeling so devoid in that place we call ”normie“ land.”　　Driven by the desire to change the world, Bitcoin evangelists already preach that hopeful reality today; however, skeptics often fall for fallacious

2021-11-22Deep Dive

Why not DeFi? Exploring the argument for liquidity staking

When given a choice between making a profit through DeFi or accruing value via staking, most investors would opt for the former — and sneer at any who chose otherwise. This dismissive attitude isnt difficult to justify; after all, DeFi has long been considered the only source for good yields.　　Consider the numbers — in 2020, the three top DeFi protocols by market capitalization — Compound, Uniswap, Aave — reported a combined annual core revenue of more than $1.3 billion. Monthly reports are similarly impressive; according to the Block, prominent protocols generated a total of $275.57 million in September 2021 alone. Performance just a few months earlier, in May, was even more lucrative, raking in $466.06 million.　　“As expected, much of the revenue went to the supply-side — that is, those providing liquidity to the protocols,” analysts for the Block wrote in an article about the May spike.　　In this context, it‘s easy to see why cryptocurrency enthusiasts choose to provide liquidity to DeFi applications rather than engage in conventional staking. While both methods facilitate passive income and involve investors “locking” some of their coins out of circulation for a set period of time in exchange for tokenized rewards, DeFi “yield farming” tends

2021-11-22Deep Dive

What are cross-chain bridges and why do they matter?

Gas fees make cross-chain transactions very expensive, hindering the free flow of crypto assets. So its not surprising that cross-chain bridges have grown at an unprecedented rate—a TVL increase of 89% MoM in October—as DeFi transaction volume booms in the bull market. 　　However, did you know that cross-chain bridges solve other problems besides (what are essential) crypto transaction fees？　　As multi-chain projects and interoperability become key components of the industry, DeFi investors need to understand how cross-chain bridges work.　　This article will look into the nature of cross-chain bridges, specifically:　　How does a cross-chain bridge work　　Cross-chain bridges market performance　　Problems addressed by cross-chain bridges　　Selecting a cross-chain bridgeWhat is a cross-chain bridge？　　A cross-chain bridge or a blockchain bridge enables the transfer of tokens assets, smart contract instructions or data between blockchains. Two chains may have different protocols, rules and governance models, but a cross-chain bridge connects these disparate blockchains together by interoperating securely.　　A cross-chain bridge allows users to:　　Deploy digital asset transactions fast and easy 　　Enjoy low operational difficulty 　　Take advantage of lower transfer fees on non-scalable blockchains　　Implement dApps across multiple platforms　　Heres an example of how cross-chain assets are transferred with a bridge:　　When a user needs to convert an asset such as an ERC20 A token

2021-11-22Deep Dive

How predicting real-world events is becoming its own industry

Marsel Adawi studied computer science in Palestine but it was trading that first interested him in cryptocurrencies. However, like other newbie traders, he found he wasn‘t very good at it, didn’t have the trading instinct and soon had lost most of his initial capital.　　Instead, he turned his attention to the technology underpinning cryptocurrency and found that much more interesting.　　“I realised that I wanted to have a career in cryptocurrencies.”　　Two years later Adawi is the founder and CEO of OptionRoom, a decentralized forecasting portal that speculates on the outcome of real-world events.The presidential election outcome was a popular wager　　Forecasting markets are financial instruments that are used to trade the outcome of future events. For example, in the recent US election, there was a binary choice between Trump and Biden. People who bought the outcome of Biden winning the election, ie forecasting the correct outcome, got rewarded, while those who bought the wrong outcome lost their investment.　　There is both a history and science to forecasting. In the early 1900s, a popular game was to guess the weight of an Ox at a fair. People who wanted to guess had to buy tickets. It turns out that the more people are involved in

2021-11-22Deep Dive

Crypto Investment Trends in 2022: Brace for More Institutions and Meme Manias

2021 has been a record year for the crypto market, which has institutional and retail investors alike to thank for its growth. While these two categories of investors have diverged in their trading behaviors, theyve both entered the market in seemingly high numbers, helping to push a whole range of cryptoassets to new all-time highs.　　For the most part, 2021 has seen institutions focus on bitcoin (BTC) and (to a lesser, yet increasing extent) on ethereum (ETH), while retail traders have been happy to also chase after whichever hyped altcoin or faddish meme is currently rising high in the market. However, according to industry players and observers speaking with Cryptonews.com, 2022 will witness a relative convergence in trading preferences, with retail investors increasingly maturing in their approach, helped in part by a growth in market analysis and research from established institutions.　　At the same time, these same commenters predict that institutions will become increasingly important in driving the market next year, with their involvement also helping to drive regulation in a favorable direction. Conversely, the markets growing maturation will also mean that a section of more risk-friendly retail traders will seek out high returns from more speculative cryptoassets.　　2021 predictions and reality　　In 2020,

2021-11-22Deep Dive

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