Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

South Korea Crypto: Watchdog bans VASP from trading their native tokens

The latest development in the South Korean crypto crackdown saw the South Korean Financial Services Commission (FSC) ban Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) and their employees from trading their platforms Native tokens.　　The government has introduced this ban using the conflict-of-interest rule, followed by proposing a revision to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. The proposal was further approved in lieu of encouraging and enabling further transparency in the crypto sphere, at a cabinet meeting held on September 28.　　“The conflict-of-interest rule prohibits VASPs from trading virtual assets issued by their own platforms or by other specially related entities and restricts operators and staff members of VASPs from trading virtual assets via their own platforms. The measures are intended to prevent damages to users and improve transparency in virtual asset transactions.”　　The FSC has given one month notice period. The commission noted that VASPs will be required to set forth internal control standards that will regulate insider trading. The time frame to set these standards will be one month from the date of the announcement. Failure to do will result in the suspension of services and will further lead to a fine of up to

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Twitter Dev Shares Site’s Upcoming NFT Features

Mada Aflak, senior software engineer at Twitter, has shared a feature that allows users to set NFTs as their profile picture.　　Developer Demonstrates NFT Feature　　In a video, Aflak demonstrates the feature. Users will be able to edit their profile, connect a cryptocurrency wallet, and import their OpenSea collection. Then, they can choose an avatar from their collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or cryptocollectibles.　　The profile picture is also marked with a badge containing an Ethereum logo to verify that the image is an NFT, as opposed to an image of an NFT that the user does not own.　　In her example, Aflak makes use of a CryptoPunk NFT, which appears to be item #8219 and one of 24 Ape punks.　　Aflak invited users to submit suggestions. “I would really love if you can share your ideas [and feedback] on how we can serve better the NFT community on Twitter,” she wrote.　　Twitter Embraces NFT Trend　　Previously, many Twitter users set NFTs as profile pictures simply by uploading the relevant image file. CryptoPunks and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs have become particularly popular avatars.　　However, there has not been any way for readers to verify that another user actually owns the NFT containing the image. This feature will

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Mike Novogratz Expects Next Bitcoin Rally to Happen in Late 2021

During his Wednesday appearance on CNBC, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz recently predicted another Bitcoin rally by the end of 2021.　　He came up with a horse racing metaphor, claiming that a horse that turns the corner near the finish line tends to win:　　“In investing, you know, the great asset class, as it gets close to the year-end, the asset class thats done the best usually has a great finish.”　　$40,000 is important　　Novogratz believes that the market is currently in “consolidation mode,” adding that its important for Bitcoin to hold the $40,000 level.　　However, he doesnt rule out that the benchmark crypto could revisit $38,000 before seeing more upside.　　For now, he expects the streak of choppy trading to continue.　　Another red September　　Despite a strong start, Bitcoin is set to finish yet another September in the red, with Chinas most recent crypto ban exerting more bearish pressure on the top cryptocurrency.　　In his recent tweet, Novogratz also mentioned the U.S. Federal Reserve‘s taper talk and the $45,000 resistance as the key reasons for the cryptocurrency’s current weakness.　　For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit - the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.

2021-09-30Deep Dive

Bitcoin Bearish Signal: On-Chain Data Shows Whales Have Started Selling

On-chain data shows whale ratio has exceeded the 0.50 mark, historically a sign that whales are dumping in the short term.Bitcoin Whales Have Started Selling Their Coins　　As pointed out by a CryptoQuant post, the Bitcoin whale ratio has started going up above the 0.50 level. This signal has usually meant a bearish outlook for the crypto in the short term.　　The BTC all exchanges whale ratio is an indicator that gives an estimation of how many whales are sending their coins to exchanges.　　The metric does so by taking the sum of the top 10 transactions to each exchange and dividing it with the total inflow on all exchanges.　　Exchange Whale Ratio= Sum of Top 10 Exchange Inflow TXs (BTC) ÷ Total Exchange Inflows in BTC　　The “inflow” is another indicator, it gives the total amount of Bitcoin entering into exchange wallets from personal ones.　　When the whale ratio rises, it means the top 10 transactions to exchanges are taking up a larger part of the total BTC going into these exchanges.　　This means more whales have started sending their coins to exchanges, either for withdrawing to fiat or stablecoins, or for purchasing altcoins.　　On the other hand, when the value moves down, it means the general

2021-09-29Deep Dive

Breaking: Switzerland’s Financial Regulator Approves First Ever Crypto Fund

Switzerland‘s financial watchdog Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) on Wednesday approved the country’s first-ever dedicated crypto fund. The new crypto fund would be called the Crypto Market Index Fund FINMA has categorized the crypto fund under “other funds for alternative investments.”　　The Swiss regulatory watchdog said even though the crypto fund would be regulated under the existing provisions of law, it has been done in a technology-neutral way to make way for innovation.　　“In order to facilitate serious innovation, FINMA applies the existing provisions of financial market laws in a consistently technology-neutral way,”　　In order to mitigate risks associated with the volatile crypto market, the new crypto fund would primarily invest in those assets which have a high trading volume. Along with that, all crypto transactions would only be facilitated via established counterparties and platforms that are based in a member country of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and are subject to corresponding anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.　　Crypto adoption in 2021 has broken many records as it saw participation from not just institutional investors but governments alike. El Salvador made Bitcoin ($BTC) a legal tender while Paraguay, Argentina, and Panama have shown interest in adopting Bitcoin as well.　　Major financial institutions including some of

2021-09-29Deep Dive

BITCOINBitcoin could soon be ‘off to the races’ and hit $90,000 if…

At press time, both of these asset classes were trading in the red. Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading under the $42k-mark whereas the yellow metal stood at $1,730. Both registered corrections of about 4% and 1%, respectively, yesterday.　　Needless to say, this is doing little to alleviate concerns among some investors. In fact, just recently, best-selling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad Robert Kiyosaki warned investors about the same.　　“Giant stock market crash coming October. Why？ Treasury and Fed are short of T-bills. Gold, Silver, and Bitcoin may crash too,” he said.What does the future look like for Gold and Bitcoin？　　Chris Vermeulen, Chief Market Strategist at investment advisory firm TheTechnicalTraders.com, discussed the same during a recent interview.　　According to the exec, Bitcoin and gold will undergo further price consolidation before hitting new all-time highs on their respective charts.　　Bitcoin and Gold.　　At press time, both of these asset classes were trading in the red. Bitcoin, the worlds largest cryptocurrency by market cap, was trading under the $42k-mark whereas the yellow metal stood at $1,730. Both registered corrections of about 4% and 1%, respectively, yesterday.　　Needless to say, this is doing little to alleviate concerns among some investors. In fact, just recently,

2021-09-29Deep Dive

Former Bitcoin lead dev predicts demise of BTC network ... with a major silver lining

Bitcoin prices could reach $6 million per coin in forty years time, but the whales may eventually pull the plug.　　A former lead developer for the Bitcoin network has postulated a possible future for the worlds most popular cryptocurrency which includes an epic price prediction.　　Software developer Gavin Andresen published a recent blog post called “A Possible BTC Future” in which he predicts the demise of the Bitcoin network.　　Before BTC meets its end, it will reach a price of $6 million per coin in 2061, Andresen predicts. Before you get too excited, he added that $1 million dollars today will be worth $6 million in the next forty years, due to massive inflation.　　The former Bitcoin client programmer admitted that his predictions were a “little piece of science fiction,” but that the scenario was entirely possible. Transaction fees would cost around $7,500 but most transactions will not occur on the network itself, he added.　　Instead theyd be on a mirrored chain using wrapped tokens to save on fees and improve speeds. The whales, which would control the entire thing, would continue to transact on the main chain. By 2100, these whales would recognize that the mining fee had dropped to near zero and so

2021-09-29Deep Dive

Another Ethereum mining pool forced to close due to China crackdown

Beepool, the fourth largest Ethereum mining pool will shut down operations following Beijings anti crypto posture.　　BeePool, the fourth largest Ethereum mining pool, is closing amid Chinas crypto crackdown.　　The China-based Ethereum mining pool announced on Tuesday it will suspend operations “in response to the latest regulatory policies.”　　Effective immediately, the registration of new users and the addition of sub-accounts for existing users will be discontinued, and all mining access servers are expected to stop operating by October 15.　　The announcement comes just a day after news broke that SparkPool, the second largest Ethereum mining pool, will suspend operations by the end of the month for similar reasons.　　Between them, BeePool and SparkPool account for more than one quarter of Ethereums hashrate.　　Following a lull in its crypto crackdown, late last week it became clear the Peoples Bank of China was ramping up a suite of new measures and promoting stronger inter-departmental coordination to suppress crypto activity. The measures aim to cut off payment channels, dispose of relevant websites and mobile applications in accordance with the law.　　The mining crackdown has focused for months on Bitcoin mining which saw a major exodus of mining operations from the country. Now, the Chinese governments focus appears to have shifted

2021-09-29Deep Dive

Thailand’s tourism authority is considering creating its own utility token

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is considering creating its own utility token to capitalize on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.　　Named after the agencys acronym, the plan to launch TAT coin will have to navigate through Thailands complex legal framework and regulations before coming to life.　　The Bangkok Post reported today that the TAT is in discussions with the Stock Exchange of Thailand regarding its ambitions and how the transfer of value can be achieved without introducing the speculative aspects of trading.　　TAT coin “would involve the transfer of vouchers into digital tokens that could help operators gain greater liquidity,” according to the report.　　Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said he values the potential that technologies like cryptocurrencies have to offer and believes it is a great opportunity for the Thai tourism industry to boost competitiveness in the short term by attracting cryptocurrency holders:　　“We have to prepare digital infrastructure and digital literacy for our tourism operators in order to commence cryptourism as the traditional business model might not be able to keep up with the new changes.”　　The TATs long term ambitions would see them to partner with the local Bitkub exchange to develop a tourism platform featuring the TAT coin and possibly non fungible

2021-09-29Deep Dive

Survey Shows 62% of Institutional Investors are set to Dive into Crypto

After sitting on the sidelines for more than a decade, a recent survey has revealed a new crop of institutional investors ready to go all out on cryptocurrencies. The research,according to Nickel Digital Asset Management (Nickel), a European investment manager dedicated to the digital assets market, draws participation from institutional investors and wealth managers from the US, UK, France, Germany, and the UAE. Each of those surveyed has no prior exposure to crypto.　　The survey revealed that as many as 62% of the respondents confirmed they will be making their first investment in the cryptocurrency ecosystem within the coming year. Despite noting that a bulk of the investments will be an avenue for these classes of investors to test the waters in terms of how it works, its infrastructure, and liquidity.　　“There is no doubt that the cryptoassets market is becoming more mainstream in the institutional and wealth management sectors. This is being driven by several factors including strong market performance during the Covid crisis, more established investors and corporations endorsing the market, and the sectors infrastructure and regulatory framework improving,” said Henry Howell, Head of Business Development of Nickel Digital, “As these trends continue to evolve, this will fuel further growth

2021-09-29Deep Dive

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