Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Altair Network wins 9th parachain auction on Kusama

Altair Network is now the winner of the 9th parachain auction on Kusama. According to parachain auction data, the network amassed over $61.7million worth of KSM tokens from over 11,200 contributors, securing first place in the competition to launch on Kusama.Altair is now onboarded as the 10th Kusama parachain　　The winner of the latest parachain auction is set to create a bridge between the experimental version of the Polkadot blockchain and Centrifuge. Altair is a network that enables users to tokenize real-world assets and finance them on the Kusama network—before they go live on the Centrifuge Chain.　　Altair is to Centrifuge what Kusama is to Polkadot—an experimental chain built using nearly the same codebase that allows users to test the bounds of asset financing. The team behind Altair wants to enable users to tokenize the most experimental of assets, ranging from novelty NFTs to undiscovered assets, and finance them to expand the reach of the DeFi ecosystem.　　In order to provide the liquidity needed to finance these novel assets, Altair needed to focus on interoperability. The protocol will bridge across the Kusama, Polkadot, and Ethereum ecosystems to allow assets to go wherever financing is available.　　Over 11,200 contributors recognized Altair‘s potential and have pledged

2021-09-30Deep Dive

NFT trading game Axie Infinity launches AXS staking program

Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn NFT game based on the Ethereum blockchain, announced the launch of the staking program for its native token, Axie Infinity Shards or AXS. 　　AXS holders can start staking their tokens while the rewards will be activated in 24 hours to ensure all time zones could stake beforehand, according to a Sept. 30 announcement.　　“Staking is a way for us to reward our community members for having a long-term mindset and locking up their AXS tokens,” the Axie Infinity team said as part of the announcement, adding that by staking, players can earn AXS rewards.　　The team plans to give voting rights and “a say over the use of the Community Treasury” by staking. The Community Treasury of Axie Infinity holds more than 18 million AXS tokens worth over $1.4 billion at the time of writing.　　A total of 2 million AXS tokens will be distributed during the first month of the staking program. About 58 million of the set cap of 270 million AXS tokens are in circulation and the rest would be released through staking, gameplay rewards and ecosystem reward structures, the announcement reads.A total of 2 million AXS tokens will be distributed during the first month of

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Bitcoin Millionaire Transfers $206 Million Worth of BTC to Binance

Bitcoin regained the price level of $43,000 today after a jump of nearly 4% in the last 24 hours. While Bitcoin bulls look keen to keep the worlds largest digital asset above the $40,000 price level, its whale activity has spiked since yesterday.　　According to Whale Alert, one of the leading blockchain tracking and crypto analytics platforms, a leading Bitcoin wallet transferred 5,000 BTC from Xapo to Binance on 29 September at 19:56 UTC. The total value of the transaction currently stands at around $206 million.　　In a separate transfer, someone moved 500 Bitcoin from an unknown wallet to the crypto exchange, Coinbase. The latest surge in BTC exchange supply came as a surprise after leading digital exchanges saw significant outflows in the last week.　　In the previous week, the Bitcoin exchange supply ratio plunged to its lowest level in more than 2 years. The latest exchange inflows indicate that there is a change in the transfer pattern of prominent Bitcoin wallets. In terms of price, BTC is currently trading above $43,500 with a market capitalization of more than $820 billion.　　One of the key indicators of Bitcoins network activity and its future price action is the unique token circulation of BTC. According to

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Chamath Palihapitiya: Bitcoin Has Effectively Replaced Gold

After averting answering a question regarding BTCs price against the dollar, Palihapitiya said the cryptocurrency has already replaced gold.　　The argument claiming that bitcoin is or will someday be better and more utilized than gold has received further support from the CEO of Social Capital Chamath Palihapitiya. In a recent interview, he asserted that BTC has already replaced the precious metal, and its market cap will soon readjust to show it.　　 Bitcoin Has Replaced Gold　　The past few years saw the debate of bitcoin versus gold growing outside the cryptocurrency community, with numerous prominent names from other financial industries weighing on it. While some, like Peter Schiff, continue to reject BTC as a valid competitor to the yellow metal, others, like Michael Saylor, Anthony Scaramucci, and Steve Wozniak, see more merit in the cryptocurrency.　　Chamath Palihapitiya, the venture capitalist, engineer, and founder of Social Capital, seems to be a member of the second camp. Speaking to Delivering Alpha, he said it was hard for him to provide a specific price tag for BTC, even though he previously predicted that it will reach $200,000, but outlined a significant milestone that bitcoin has achieved in his eyes.　　“Bitcoin, I think, has effectively replaced gold. And it

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Argentina’s Largest Soccer Team, Boca Juniors, Is Considering to Launch a Club NFT

Argentinas Boca Juniors wants to go beyond the football field. Now it wants to launch an NFT and several companies wants to help.　　Boca Juniors, Argentinas most popular soccer team, is looking to score a goal in the field of digital tokens.　　Boca Juniors seems to be exploring ways to take advantage of the NFT fever and is talking to multiple companies to study their proposals for creating virtual communities powered by NFTs.　　Decentralizing the Boca Juniors　　There are many ways to take advantage of NFT technology in the sports business world, and fan tokens are perhaps one of the most popular approaches for soccer clubs.　　This type of token allows holders to enjoy certain benefits like taking part in some decision-making sessions, interactions with players, and some other advantages, without the need to have corporate rights.　　According to information provided to Bloomberg by anonymous sources, Socios.com, the fan token development company with licenses for more than 50 high-level sports clubs, is proposing the issuance of a fan token that could generate revenues of around $10 million for Boca Juniors.　　Another company, Decentral Games, offered to create a token and develop a virtual stadium in which fans and players have the opportunity to interact. The idea would

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Senator Lummis lays out principles for a US digital currency

U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to explain her views on a prospective U.S. central bank digital currency.　　Highlighting the role of a CBDC in the next era of finance, Lummis said: “Americas leadership in global financial services is a heritage our country can rightly be proud of.”　　The Wyoming senator went on to outline a vision for a CBDC that is a direct debt instrument with the Federal Reserve, as opposed to stablecoins, which are a claim on commercial bank money or other assets. She was especially concerned with the importance of programmability, which she highlighted as a key distinction between existing digitized versions of the dollar and a true CBDC.　　“Programmability focuses on the characteristics of money, including the identity of the owner, the amount of money being transferred and the conditions in which the outside world can interact with that money,” Lummis explained. She further insisted on the importance of continued privacy, saying: “We cannot allow a CBDC to become a panopticon.”　　These concerns have cropped up often in discussions of a CBDC, but this is the first time a Senator has spoken at length on a positive vision for such a development on the shared

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Coinbase’s Deleted Tweet Fuels Speculations About Bitcoin ETF

Coinbase Inc., the worlds leading public crypto exchange tweeted an official blog titled “Coinbase Report: Expect Growth in crypto Fund and SEC Approved ETF Soon.” However, the tweet was deleted soon after giving fire to speculations about possible Bitcoin ETF approval by SEC in October. The speculation mill believes the recently deleted tweet is a possible hint at the approval of the first-ever crypto ETF in the US.　　The demand for a crypto ETF is at an all-time high and Gary Genslers comment about a Futures ETF having a better chance of approval has made several ETF managers file for Bitcoin Strategy ETF instead of physical ones and nearly half a dozen firms have already filed for it. A Bloomberg ETF analyst pointed that the response period on Bitcoin Strategy ETF is about 75 days which comes to an end in October, thus one can expect approval in this time frame.　　The analyst also claimed if a Futures Bitcoin ETF is approved in 2021, a physical ETF won‘t be far-fetched by 2022. However, he noted that these are purely based on the review period and don’t guarantee the stance of the SEC as they might reject it all together given their ongoing

2021-09-30Deep Dive

More Crypto Regulation May Be on its Way in South Korea, Japan

A South Korean regulatory chief has renewed calls for stronger crypto sector policing, but an industry association has warned that billions of USD worth of damages could follow if crypto-only exchanges are allowed to go bust.　　According to Seoul Finance, the new Financial Services Commission (FSC) Chairman Koh Seung-beom announced that he would seek to “strengthen the monitoring of crypto exchanges” to ensure that they return customer deposits in a timely manner and follow other regulatory protocols.　　Koh was speaking to reporters after meeting with the heads of eight policy and financial institutions at Seoul, where he discussed crypto and other matters.　　Koh was quoted as stating:　　“The Financial Intelligence Unit [a regulatory agency that answers to the FSC] cryptoasset-related labor resources have been increased and a cryptoasset inspection department has been established. We will check with the FIU to see if we are on the right track.”　　But the industry is doing what it can to push back against regulatory policies that have seen all but four of South Korea‘s crypto exchanges close or limit their services to crypto-only operations in the past few days. News1 quoted the head of the Korea Blockchain Enterprise Promotion Association as urging politicians to support a private member’s

2021-09-30Deep Dive

PayPal, Google Execs to Help Bank of England 'Understand' Digital Currency

The Bank of England today announced members of two forums that will explore a potential central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the UK. The forum members include PayPal and Google bigwigs among representatives from many Silicon Valley giants.　　CBDCs are digital versions of a fiat currency—like pound sterling, the euro or dollar—backed by a central bank. Countries around the world are currently researching the benefits of developing them. Some countries—such as China and the Bahamas—have already rolled out or are in the testing stages of a CBDC project.　　The UK has so far been comparatively slow, and has only announced research into such an asset. But todays announcement shows that the Bank of England is at least consulting with top experts in the tech and finance space. The forum will research and provide feedback to the Bank on how a CBDC could—or couldnt—work in the UK.　　“The Forum will help the Bank to understand the technological challenges of designing, implementing and operating a CBDC,” the announcement read.　　The members of the CBDC Engagement Forum and CBDC Technology Forum include Edwin Aoki, who serves as CTO, blockchain, cryptocurrency and digital currencies at PayPal, Matthieu Saint Olive, the CBDC and payments manager at ConsenSys, and Ashley

2021-09-30Deep Dive

New Ethereum Update Will Allow Built-In Multi-Sig Wallets, Simplified Update Process and More

The new ERC-4337 update proposal has been announced by Vitalik Buterin. The Ethereum developer has discussed the new features that will be introduced with the update and the possibilities that the new ERC brings to the network.　　Account Abstraction introduction　　The most important update for the Ethereum network will be Account Abstraction, which has been awaited by both the developer and user communities. The update adds new verification logic for individual users wallets. It creates new functions for wallet developers, which will now be able to implement futures like multiple signatures, social recovery and new signature algorithms.　　The aforementioned functions are already present in the modern wallet, but in order to use them, developers have to use additional transactions and spend excessive amounts of gas. Users have to hold some ETH on an external account or use relay systems that usually work in a centralized manner.　　Previously presented EIP-2938 was already designed to fix the issue, but it also required Ethereum protocol changes that do not mesh well with the current developer focus (the scalability issue). In the newly presented proposal, the same goals will be achieved without consensus-layer protocol changes.　　How does the new proposal work？　　The key function that the update will bring is

2021-09-30Deep Dive

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