Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

AMC Theatres now accepts Dogecoin for digital gift card purchases

Dogecoin started its life as little more than a meme currency, but thanks to exposure from Elon Musk over the past year, it has quickly attracted many new investors of all ages. Now, even giant entertainment corporations like AMC are taking it seriously. Last month, company CEO Adam Aron polled Twitter users to ask whether AMC should explore supporting Dogecoin as a payment method, and the responses were overwhelmingly positive.　　Unlike the currency itself, Arons Dogecoin poll wasnt a meme. It was serious business, and as of Tuesday, AMC began allowing customers to purchase up to $200 worth of digital gift cards per day using the Shiba-branded coin.　　If you want to take advantage of this, the process is relatively simple. Just snag the BitPay browser extension or one of its two mobile apps -- ordinary BitPay or BitPay Checkout (for purchases at physical AMC locations) -- and link your wallet. If you dont have a BitPay wallet, you can create one here. Once youve done that, buying gift cards is as easy as pulling up the corresponding app or extension and choosing the company you want a gift card for.　　To be clear, Dogecoin isnt the only crypto you can use with

2021-10-11Deep Dive

Bitcoin network tags record high for daily settlement volume

The value settled on the Bitcoin network has been surging recently, reaching a new daily all-time high last week.　　Bitcoins daily settlement value hit an all-time high on Oct. 6, with $31 billion worth of transactions being settled on-chain using the Bitcoin network.　　The record high marks an increase in the networks daily settlement volume of approximately 40 times since the beginning of 2020.　　According to data from Coin Metrics, daily settlement volume has since pulled back sharply, with the Bitcoin network settling $11.6 billion worth of transactions on Oct. 10.　　On-chain analyst Willy Woo commented the uptick in activity and settlement value over the weekend, tweeting that volume money moving on Bitcoins blockchain currently dwarfs that of major centralized payment networks Visa and Mastercard in the United States.　　“[The Bitcoin network is] presently doing ~$190k per second. Compare this to $130k per second by Visa for US customers and $55k per second for Mastercard.”　　According to Bitinfocharts, the average value of a transaction executed on the Bitcoin network has also been steadily increasing over the past three months to tag $732,000 — an increase of 273% since the beginning of July.　　Chinese media outlet Wu Blockchain has also observed a spike in the number of transactions

2021-10-11Deep Dive

From Fashion to Charity, Bitcoin Adoption Blossoms

PacSun and Nicklaus Childrens Hospital Foundation are among the latest organizations to add crypto payment options for their clients.　　The latest cryptocurrency adoption cases are coming from the fashion brand – PacSun, as well as the charity organization – Nicklaus Childrens Hospital Foundation.　　PacSun Also Caught The Crypto Wave　　One more firm that enabled digital asset settlements is PacSun. The major brand in the fashion and retail space added bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies using the leading blockchain payment provider – BitPay.　　Namely, those are Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), Litecoin (LTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and 5 USD-pegged stablecoins (GUSD, USDC, USDP, DAI, and BUSD). Brieane Olson – President of PacSun – commented:　　“With digital sales doubling since last year, we understand the continued importance of creating an exceptional online shopping experience for our customers.”　　The California-based retail clothing brand is designed for teens and young adults. The fact that younger generations are much more oriented towards technological innovations and digital currencies makes PacSuns move sound highly perspective according to its Co-CEO Michael Relich:　　“The Gen Z audience, our primary consumer, is very tech-oriented, and we dedicate a lot of our efforts towards social media and e-commerce to align with their lifestyles and resonate with them

2021-10-11Deep Dive

Analysis: The Distinction Between Bitcoin’s Market Cycles in 2017 and 2021

This analysis takes a closer look at some of Bitcoins structural market metrics and compares the current cycle to that of 2017.　　The following is compiled by on-chain analyst CryptoVizArt for CryptoPotato.　　Bitcoins NVT　　NVT estimates the values of the network using its on-chain investor volume. As crypto analyst Willy Woo initially introduced this model, NVT Price is calculated by multiplying on-chain volume by the 2-year median value of NVT-Ratio (Market cap / Total on-chain transfer volume).　　Back in 2018, after touching the cycles top, both 30-day & 90-day MA of NVT-price have declined continuously for almost 12 months. However, since the 50% drop that took place in May 2021, these moving averages are rising to levels above their previous peaks at 64K.　　This variation in NVT-based pricing results could be translated to a higher institutional activity level compared to retailers.　　Chart by Glassnode　　Categorical Analysis of On-Chain Activity　　Historically, in all former crypto market cycles, both the 7-day MA of on-chain transfer volume Mean & Median sizes have spiked up to over 4X of their 360-day MA level and then dropped below 1X their 360-day MA.　　The Mean and Median size of on-chain transfer volume are the proxies for larger and smaller transactions. When the Mean value rises,

2021-10-11Deep Dive

The Metaverse, play-to-earn and the new economic model of gaming

The gaming industry, which has always been synonymous with fun, has grown massively in recent times, and a lot of money is now being mentioned when gaming comes up. Since the introduction of Web 3.0, there has been immense growth in the industry. At the end of 2019, the global gaming market was reportedly worth $152 billion. This growth has meant that, since the introduction of Web 3.0, there has been a consistent rate at which Web 3.0 games are growing and garnering increased adoption. A lot of money is being made, and this has, in turn, attracted a lot of new developers to the space.　　Gaming in the past has always been a one-sided relationship, where only the developers or owners of a game get the financial gains while players are left to just have fun and keep spending. A new economic model has now been introduced but, in the years leading up to it, players have spent a lot on gaming. In 2020, the mobile applications industry saw customers collectively spend $143 billion. Gaming apps took a huge $100 billion of that amount. This implied that, for every dollar that was spent on the Google Play Store (for Android

2021-10-11Deep Dive

Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.: 4 States Attract The Most Miners

Dataset from Foundry shows that four states in the U.S. have the highest Bitcoin hash rate distribution. The dataset shows that many Bitcoin miners are headed to New York, Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas.　　Foundry U.S. is the largest mining pool in North America and the fifth-largest globally. The hash rate is a measure of collective mining power. A mining pool enables miners to combine their hashing power with other miners all over the world.Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.　　According to the data, within the U.S., New York accounts for 19.9% of bitcoins hash rate, 18.7% in Kentucky, 17.3% is in Georgia, and 14% in Texas.　　At the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on October 8, 2021, Nic Carter, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, presented Foundry‘s data. “This is the first time we’ve actually had state-level insight on where miners are unless you wanted to go cobble through all the public filings and try to figure it out that way,”　　He added that “This is a much more efficient way of figuring out where mining occurs in America.”　　However, Carter pointed out that the Foundry dataset does not consider all the U.S. mining hash rates as not all U.S.-based mining farms use its services. One of

2021-10-11Deep Dive

Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.: 4 States Attract The Most Miners

Dataset from Foundry shows that four states in the U.S. have the highest Bitcoin hash rate distribution. The dataset shows that many Bitcoin miners are headed to New York, Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas.　　Foundry U.S. is the largest mining pool in North America and the fifth-largest globally. The hash rate is a measure of collective mining power. A mining pool enables miners to combine their hashing power with other miners all over the world.　　Bitcoin Mining In The U.S.　　According to the data, within the U.S., New York accounts for 19.9% of bitcoins hash rate, 18.7% in Kentucky, 17.3% is in Georgia, and 14% in Texas.　　Source: Foundry U.S.　　At the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on October 8, 2021, Nic Carter, co-founder of Castle Island Ventures, presented Foundry‘s data. “This is the first time we’ve actually had state-level insight on where miners are unless you wanted to go cobble through all the public filings and try to figure it out that way,”　　He added that “This is a much more efficient way of figuring out where mining occurs in America.”　　However, Carter pointed out that the Foundry dataset does not consider all the U.S. mining hash rates as not all U.S.-based mining farms use its services.

2021-10-11Deep Dive

Bitcoin Rally Fueled by $1.6B Buy on Exchanges Tied to China

A purchase made Wednesday the equivalent of $1.6 billion in Bitcoin may have come out of China.　　According to Coindesk, a buyer or group of buyers purchased $1.6 billion worth of bitcoin in a matter of minutes on centralized exchanges, driving the price of the cryptocurrency up 5 percent.　　According to Yahoo Finance, three exchanges with ties to China – Binance, Huobi, and ByBit – saw a spike in trade volume between 13:11 and 13:16 UTC on Wednesday.　　Although the exchanges may have ties to China, pinpointing where the transaction occurred can be pretty tricky, especially for cryptocurrency.　　According to a tweet on Thursday from Ki Young Ju, CEO of data provider CryptoQuant, “whales bought up $BTC in the perpetual futures markets yesterday mostly at @binance, @HuobiGlobal and @Bybit_Official. Basis ratio says it was futures-driven, and they punted long positions as open interest skyrocketed at that time. These guys know something.”　　Ki went on to hypothesize that United States-based traders could be taking such extreme positions, based on the speculation of a possible crypto regulated market headed by the SEC, to “avoid blame” for insider trading.　　“If this move was the ETF front-running from U.S. whales, they are likely to use non-US exchanges to avoid blame

2021-10-11Deep Dive

Nigeria Central Bank Governor Says CBDC Launch Just 'a Couple of Days' Away

The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has confirmed the countrys upcoming digital currency will be launched “in a couple of days from now.” According to the governor, the digital currency which is also known as the e-naira will be the first of its kind in Africa.　　 Nigeria to Launch CBDC in Days　　Emefiele‘s reassurances to Nigerians follow the CBN’s deferment of the e-naira launch to an unknown date.　　Sources disclose Emefiele said on Thursday the e-naira CBDC will make Nigeria “one of the first countries in Africa to adopt the digitisation of its national currency.”　　As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, the central bank claimed it had postponed the e-naira‘s launch because this would have clashed with the country’s independence day celebrations.　　However, some observers have speculated that the deferment may have been necessitated by a legal challenge that was brought against the central bank by a Nigerian firm.　　A Nigerian court has since ruled in favor of the CBN thus paving the way for the launch of a digital currency that will be one of the first in Africa.　　When finally launched, this digital currency is expected to accelerate financial inclusion and enable cheaper and faster remittance inflows, according to

2021-10-11Deep Dive

McKinsey: Firms should prepare for the ‘inevitable changes’ of CBDC

McKinseys annual Global Payments Report released on day one of Sibos 2021, outlines a positive, albeit unbalanced, return to growth across the sector after Covid-19, underscoring the action firms should take in anticipation of widespread digital currency adoption.　　The expansive report covers four key areas: CBDC and stablecoins: early coexistence on an uncertain road, the evolution of global transaction banking, how transaction banks are reinventing treasury services, merchant acquiring and the $100 billion opportunity in small business.　　The reports CBDC chapter explains that the co-evolution of stablecoins and CBDCs will bear a direct impact on society, and that its progress is now well underway following a recent shift in thinking around cryptocurrency from being a potential store of value, toward a means of financial exchange.　　This disconnect is shrinking quickly as a result of both private firms and monetary authorities beginning to issue stabilised cryptocurrencies in a more mainstream fashion.　　Referencing the pullback of cash payments throughout 2020, the report explains that regulators in countries with dramatic reductions in cash usage are preparing strategies to ensure continued availability of central bank currency, driving increased attention toward the use of CBDCs.　　While stating that the market is far too nascent to confidently predict outcomes, it notes

2021-10-11Deep Dive

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