Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Bitcoin Taproot has so far failed to live up to expectation, is there more to come?

The Bitcoin Taproot upgrade went live on November 14 to much fanfare. However, since then, the price of Bitcoin has dropped 11%, triggering calls that it has failed to live up to expectations.　　John Todaro, the Vice President at financial services firm Needham & Co, commented that wider macro factors were at play, in effect, overriding any tailwinds that may have resulted from Taproot going live.　　Todaro referred to a pullback, or breather, in the market cycle due to the euphoria of the past few weeks. He also spoke of the uncertainty brought about by the signing of the Infrastructure Bill.　　But, more interestingly, Todaro questioned whether Taproot could do what it‘s supposed to do and broaden Bitcoin’s use case outside of being a store of value.　　What is Bitcoin Taproot？　　Bitcoin Taproot is the first significant upgrade since SegWit in 2017. It marked a moment of unity among miners, who voted yes to its implementation.　　In a nutshell, Taproot brings more transaction efficiency and privacy to the chain. But, as a bonus, it also lays the foundation for smart contracts, adding the potential for programmability.　　Alyse Killeen, the Founder of venture firm Stillmark, said the Taproot upgrade is a big deal in that it will enable

2021-11-18Deep Dive

Shiba Inu Momentarily Becomes Largest ERC-20 Token Holding Among Top 1,000 Whale Wallets

Key takeaways　　Shiba Inu (SHIB) briefly became the largest holding of the top 1000 ERC-20 token wallets.　　The memecoin however continues to struggle with its price slump.　　The SHIB community is taking comfort from the number of new platforms integrating the dog-themed token.　　The market action of Shiba Inu (SHIB) appears to have found renewed vigor after being muted for the past few days. According to data from WhaleStats, a site that tracks the top 1000 wallets holding ERC-20 tokens, whale wallets have been moving back into SHIB.　　In a tweet made earlier today, the ERC-20 whales monitoring site noted that SHIB had emerged as the biggest holding of the whale wallets it was monitoring. SHIB outpaced the tokens of Bitpanda Ecosystem Token (BEST), OKEx (OKB), and Crypto.com (CRO) which were the top three tokens at the time. At its highest point, SHIB constituted 17.44% of the holdings of the wallets and had a value of over $2.3 billion.　　However, SHIB has been unable to sustain the top position as it has been toppled by the tokens it overtook. At press time it had retraced to being the 4th biggest ERC-20 top whale wallets holding, accounting for around 3.92% of their balance, with a value of

2021-11-18Deep Dive

Here’s why bears hope to pin Bitcoin under $60K ahead of Friday’s $1.1B options expiry

Bitcoin (BTC) bulls were euphoric when the price soared to $69,000 on Nov. 10 because the 14.5% gain accumulated over five days meant they were in for a $715 million profit on Nov. 12s options expiry.　　However, the 9% negative price move on Nov. 16 caught bulls by surprise, especially since most of the call (buy) options for Nov. 19 have been placed at $66,000 or higher. Curiously, that price level has been the exception rather than the norm.　　Bears might have been lucky because the two negative events happened in the past few days. On Nov. 12, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission denied VanEcks spot Bitcoin ETF request. But more important than the rejection, itself, which was largely expected, was the rationale behind the decision.　　The SEC explicitly mentioned their uncertainties about Tether‘s (USDT) stablecoin and the lack of ability to deter fraud and market manipulation in Bitcoin trading. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst and cryptocurrency expert Eric Balchunas had already given a 1% chance for approval so the denial wasn’t really a surprise.　　Moreover, on Nov. 15, U.S. President Joe Biden sanctioned the infrastructure bill, which mandates that starting in 2024, digital asset transactions worth more than $10,000 be reported to

2021-11-18Deep Dive

Federal Reserve Governor Argues Against Subjecting Stablecoins to Full Banking Regulation

Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller says that stablecoins do not need to be regulated with all the same rules as banks. He disagrees with some of the recommendations on stablecoin regulation by the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets. He explained that while banks should be able to issue stablecoins, not all stablecoin issuers need to be banks.　　Feds Waller Disagrees That Stablecoins Need to Be Regulated With Full Banking Regulation　　Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller talked about stablecoin regulation Wednesday during a virtual conference organized by the Cleveland Fed.　　While emphasizing that “The regulatory and supervisory framework for payment stablecoins should address the specific risks that these arrangements pose — directly, fully, and narrowly,” he noted:　　It does not necessarily mean imposing the full banking rulebook, which is geared in part toward lending activities, not payments.　　Waller said that he disagrees with some of the recommendations made by the Presidents Working Group on Financial Markets (PWG).　　The PWG, in collaboration with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), issued a report on stablecoins on Nov. 1. The report calls for the imposition of bank-like regulation on stablecoins with a sense of urgency.　　Waller explained that he

2021-11-18Deep Dive

Bitcoin's Recent Drop Below $60K Is Not Worrisome, Analyst Says

There is no need to fret about Bitcoins recent drop below $60,000, according to Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak.　　The market analyst recently told Yahoo Finance that the largest cryptocurrency could still fall “a lot” without enduring any real damage from a technical standpoint.　　He estimates that Bitcoin would have to plunge below $50,000 to cause some serious damage. In such a case, the crypto king would break its trendline that goes back to the July lows:　　“It can still come down quite a bit without having really major technical damage.”　　Last Wednesday, Bitcoin hit a new record high of $69,000, soaring into overbought territory.　　Even some long-time bulls of the likes of Morgan Creeks Mark Yusko have been on pullback watch.　　While Maley worries that a notable decrease in the supply of liquidity could lead to “some problems” for Bitcoin and Ether, he is still bullish in the long term.　　He adds that there are plenty of equities that are “much more vulnerable” than Bitcoin.　　For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.

2021-11-18Deep Dive

AMC Theatres, welcomes Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash for Online Payments.

The great entertainment industry - AMC, owning the worlds largest cinema chain now accepts Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoincash as means of online payments for her services. This development was confirmed in a Twitter tweet by the companys CEO - Adam Aron who tweeted: “As promised, many new ways NOW to pay online at AMC. We proudly now accept: drumroll, and online payments via bitcoin, ethereum, bitcoin cash, litecoin,” he tweeted on Friday last week. Further the CEO mentioned that Dogecoin will be the next Cryptocurrency which the company will further add to her list of online payments methods.　　The CEO of AMC Theatres, the largest movie theater chain in the U.S., has revealed that his company will now accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash as new means for online payments and transactions within the company.　　This final development comes as a follow-up of the initial reports in August that AMC would be accepting crypto for tickets and final concessions to be given later in the year. Hence, last week Adam Aron the CEO of AMC has confirmed that the service is now in operation. According to his reports:　　“As promised, many new ways NOW to pay online at AMC. We proudly

2021-11-17Deep Dive

Is ‘buying the dip’ the best option for Bitcoin investors right now?

As far as price movements go, Bitcoin has had a good run over the weeks. However, even though there was an all-time high just seven days ago, Bitcoin is already losing some of its gains now.　　Now, the good thing is investors, instead of being negative about this development, are focusing on making the most of this opportunity. But, they might as well consider changing their decision.　　Bitcoin is dipping…　　As far as social volumes are concerned, investors are showing interest in making the most of the price fall. In fact, ‘buy the dip’ interest has spiked of late.　　Similar interest was visible earlier in the month when Bitcoin first noted red candles after hitting a new ATH on the charts.　　Since then, however, the price has been consistently falling, with a 7% drop seen over the last 24 hours. Such has been the scale of depreciation that BTC has dipped towards the $60k-level now.　　This sentiment of buying is only to HODL right now. On the macro scale, where BTC‘s price has risen by over 104%, its rate of changing hands hasn’t moved by a lot.　　Except for a few spikes in September and August, coins have mostly remained confined to investors wallets, as is visible

2021-11-17Deep Dive

Allianz’s El-Erian Will Buy Bitcoin Again Only When Speculative Investors Leave the Market

Mohamed El-Erian – Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz – classified bitcoin investors into three different categories – “fundamentalists, professional investors, and speculators.” He said he would become a BTC holder once again only if the third type disappears from the space.　　Will El-Erian Buy BTC Again？　　The President of Queens College and CEA at Allianz – Mohamed El-Erian – revealed in a recent interview when he would potentially buy bitcoin again. It‘s worth noting that he bought an undisclosed amount during the “crypto winter” of 2018, when the asset’s price stood at roughly $3,000.　　“I felt compelled to buy it – I really did. I felt like I had framed it. I had this level, I had an entry point.”　　However, at the end of last year, bitcoin skyrocketed to $19,000, and he decided to sell his position. In the following months, though, the primary cryptocurrency continued its rally, reaching an all-time high of around $69,000 just a few days ago.　　Keeping in mind the significant price increase and the developments in the cryptocurrency industry, El-Erian revealed he could become a BTC owner once again but under one condition – if some of the day-trading “speculators” in the market get “shaken out.”　　Apart from them, the

2021-11-17Deep Dive

From Cryptocurrency to Cash: How to Bank Your Digital Coin

Cryptocurrency, the blockchain-based digital currency that has captured the interest of investors and financial service firms alike, has a challenging problem. It can be hard to actually spend this currency like you would regular money. But there are new services on the horizon that could help people use bitcoin and other digital coins in more mainstream ways for their day-to-day finances.　　Heres a look at how to use these banking-style services for cryptocurrency, as well as their benefits and barriers.What is cryptocurrency banking？　　The term crypto banking could be considered a misnomer, since the exchange companies and firms that offer these services arent technically banks, but it generally refers to the ways in which consumers can manage their cryptocurrency balances. At this stage, this kind of banking mostly just allows people to hold their funds in a digital wallet or spend it like they would spend traditional money.Benefits of cryptocurrency banking　　At this time, the main benefit of this kind of banking is cryptocurrency debit cards. They allow you to use your digital coin balance like any other currency to make everyday purchases or withdraw it as cash instead of keeping it as an investment.　　Before these debit cards were available, you could spend

2021-11-17Deep Dive

NFT platform Quartz wins the 14th parachain slot on the Kusama network

Decentralized NFT infrastructure network Quartz, as part of Unique Network, has been declared the winner of the 14th parachain slot on the Kusama Network. Quartz raised $23M (54k KSM) from nearly 9,000 global community members through a novel crowdloan approach.　　A figure that stands out in the overall crowdloan for this project is the huge community involvement with over 8874 network stakeholders voting with 54,384 $KSM, demonstrating a deep commitment to driving Unique advanced NFT features forward.　　The team at Unique Network are developing flexible economic models, scheduled transactions, re-fungibility and nested NFTs. All of the tools an NFT project will need to bring their NFTs to life in the future. 　　Quartz also uses the sustainability offered by substrate and Polkadot as a proof of stake network to create sustainable NFTs and partnered with #DigitalArt4Climate to be the only NFT platform featured at COP26 last week. 　　During the crowdloan, users deposit their KSM into a digital vault and receive two types of tokens post-launch. Every user that bonded KSM for the project will now be offered rewards in $QTZ and the earlier they participated, the better. They also rewarded unique Chelobrick NFTs to the first 100 crowdloan participants. 　　In October, Unique announced

2021-11-17Deep Dive