Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

U.K. Payments App Revolut May Launch Its Own Token

Revolut, a payments app company based in the U.K., is reportedly planning to introduce its own cryptocurrency token.　　Revolut Could Launch Exchange Token　　Two sources told Coindesk today that Revolut plans to create a token for use on its payments and trading app.　　The original report drew comparisons to Wirex‘s WXT token, Nexo’s NEXO token, and Binances Binance Coin, all of which are usually classified as exchange tokens.　　This implies that users would earn crypto rewards by holding and using the Revolut token when they make payments. The report did not indicate how much users could earn back per transaction.　　Sources suggested that the Revolut token will not launch unless it gains approval from the U.K.s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and that the token would initially be made available in Europe.　　Revolut Valued at $33 Billion　　Revolut is a payments app that also allows users to invest in stocks, commodities, and other assets.　　It initially launched crypto trading in 2017 and introduced support for various tokens. Most recently, it added Dogecoin to its list of supported tokens in June of this year.　　Initially, the app only allowed users to hold crypto and convert it to and from fiat currency. The company began to allow Bitcoin withdrawals for some users

2021-09-28Deep Dive

65% of working Americans are willing to be paid in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin

To explore how Americans view cryptocurrencies as a form of workplace compensation, research and survey firm Skynova spoke to more than 1,000 working professionals, including 797 employees and 205 managers.　　Skynova provides invoicing software for small businesses and in order to gauge both interest and experience surrounding the new form of compensation, the company‘s survey included 46.9% of respondents who had already received cryptocurrency as compensation and 53.9% of respondents who hadn’t.　　The majority of employees are interested　　The survey was sent to investigate the general attitude and explore to what extent working Americans are willing to be paid in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Do they perceive it as a perk and would they quit their job to pursue one that offered this type of compensation？　　65.5% of employees responded they would be at least somewhat willing to receive compensation in cryptocurrencies, with just over 28% even classifying themselves as “very willing.”　　The employees demography surfaced as an important factor since the survey revealed that 63% of millennials view compensation in crypto as a perk.　　Fewer than 10% rated the idea of their employers starting to offer salaries in crypto as “very bad.”　　Almost a third of the respondents said that they would quit their current job

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Nobody Knows Who Controls the Keys to El Salvador's Bitcoin: BlockBank Exec

El Salvador officially recognized Bitcoin as legal tender earlier this month, but many questions remain unanswered, including one all important question for security purposes: Who controls the private keys to the countrys Bitcoin stash？　　“There are so many things that are not being disclosed. For example, who‘s holding the private keys to these Bitcoin？” Nolvia Serrano, head of operations at crypto wallet provider BlockBank, asked on the Decrypt Daily podcast on Monday. “Also, what’s the criteria for saying, Oh, today, we‘re going to buy more Bitcoin, or we’re going to wait until next month. We dont know that.”　　On September 6, one day before Bitcoin officially became legal tender in the country, Bukeles regime purchased 400 Bitcoin. Each purchase is a risk for the countrys treasury, considering Bitcoins price volatility. At that time, Bitcoin was trading at $53,000; one day later, it plummeted 10%.　　Not to be dissuaded, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele “bought the dip” last week, and increased El Salvadors total holdings to 700 Bitcoin while Salvadorans continue to ask questions.　　“Are they planning on purchasing more？” Serrano asked, adding, “what is this process, who is controlling this, who is overseeing this？”　　 Transparency issues　　El Salvador‘s private keys are not the only part

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Digital dollar advocate will retire as Dallas Fed president

Rob Kaplan, the president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas will step down from his position after more than six years.　　In a Sept. 27 announcement, the Dallas Fed said Kaplan, its 13th president and CEO, would be retiring beginning Oct. 8. The 64-year-old cited recent attention to his “financial disclosure risks” in his decision to step down, likely referring to news outlets reporting that he had traded stocks in companies including Apple, Alibaba, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Tesla in 2020 while casting his vote on U.S. monetary policy.　　The Dallas Fed president has denied any allegations of impropriety, saying he “adhered to all Federal Reserve ethical standards and policies.” He added his “securities investing activities and disclosures met Bank compliance rules and standards.”　　Kaplan was also an advocate for the U.S. developing a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, as part of the countrys economy and fiscal policy. At a November 2020 virtual conference, the president said “it is critical that the Fed focuses on developing a digital currency in the coming months and years.”　　On the national stage, Fed chair Jerome Powell said the government agency was still undecided on a digital dollar, but planned to issue

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Crypto in Chaos, but Blockchain-powered Pay and Stablecoins Thrive in S Korea

South Koreas crypto industry may have suffered a body blow over the weekend, with a slew of exchanges and wallet providers closing or suspending business operations: a tough regulatory deadline turned a once-thriving sector into a tiny “oligopoly.” But the story is very different in the world of blockchain-based pay and fiat KRW-pegged stablecoins.　　The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) is a firm that until relatively recently made its money from cash: the company prints banknotes and mints coins for the treasury.　　But in recent years, it has moved away from paper and notes, and deeper into the fast-growing world of local stablecoins. Working in conjunction with city and provincial authorities around the nation, KOMSCO has rolled out scores of local stablecoins and blockchain-powered paperless gift certificates.　　Many authorities used these programs to send the equivalent of coronavirus pandemic-mitigating stimulus checks to local residents – in a drive to steer people away from monolithic e-commerce platforms and back toward local businesses. Seoul has also been on a “cashless” and “contact-free” drive, a factor that has helped KOMSCO boost its range of stablecoin offerings.　　Last year, the company posted record profits, went on a hiring drive and announced plans to pay its staff

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Morgan Stanley doubles exposure to Bitcoin through Grayscale shares

Major U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley has more than doubled its shares of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust since April.　　According to a report from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, filed Sept. 27, the Morgan Stanley Europe Opportunity Fund, which invests in established and emerging companies throughout Europe, owned 58,116 shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, or GBTC, as of July 31. At the time of publication, the price of GBTC is $34.28, making the investment banks exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) roughly $2 million — Morgan Stanley reported thatthe shares cost $2.4 million.　　Previous filings show that Morgan Stanley has increased its shares of GBTC by more than 105% since April. Cointelegraph reported in June that the investment bank held 28,298 GBTC, worth roughly $1.3 million at the time.　　Morgan Stanley has been gaining more exposure to BTC in 2021. The firms Europe Opportunity Fund aims at maximum capital appreciation by investing in “high quality established and emerging” Europe-based companies that the team considers “undervalued at the time of purchase.”　　In April, the investment bank announced it would be adding Bitcoin exposure to 12 investment funds through Grayscale and cash-settled futures. The bank later led a $48 million funding round for Securitize,

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Former US Treasurer Lauds XRP As The Only Cryptocurrency With Real Intrinsic Value

According to a tweet posted on Sunday, the former treasurer of the United States lauded XRP, positing that it was the only cryptocurrency with real use-case as opposed to other cryptocurrencies, pointing at how the recent FUD created by recent Chinese crypto bans affected the crypto market.　　Despite XRP, the native coin for Ripple being ideally suited for global payments because it is quicker, less costly, more scalable, and sustainable than any other digital asset, her tweet was received with a fair share of criticism, with various respondents viewing her sentiments as only driven by the fact that she is an employee at Ripple.　　In May, the former treasurer in Obama‘s government was appointed as a board member of San Franciso-based blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions firm Ripple. This appointment was widely seen as Ripple’s way of reinforcing its regulatory brainpower amid the ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with Ripples C.E.O Brad Garlington saying;　　“Rosie‘s experience in the public and private sectors provides an invaluable perspective to Ripple, especially during this time as the industry works to define crypto’s future.”　　Recently, Ripple C.E.O in an Interview with Fox Business expressed the firm‘s intention to settle its legal battle with

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Binance Stops Fiat Deposits, Crypto Trading, And Crypto Purchases In Singapore

Binance has restricted access for Singapore users who will no longer be able to deposit fiat, carry out spot trading, or swap tokens on its exchange, according to a Monday announcement.　　Binance referred to the restricted services as Regulated Payment Services, stating these as the reason for halting the services to its Singapore-based customers.　　“We will be restricting Singapore users in Respect of the Regulated Payments Services in line with our commitment to compliance.”　　The order will come into effect on October 26, 2021, and affected users are encouraged to withdraw their assets, redeem tokens and stop all trading activities before the set date.　　According to Binance, the move is in line with its declared commitment to work with regulators globally to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets.　　Binance is willing to downsize for compliance　　The announcement follows a week after Binance halted crypto derivative offerings in Australia for the same compliance reasons.　　The exchange also started pulling back on its operations in Singapore on September 6 after a warning from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. MAS is only one among over a dozen regulators to either issue warnings to Binance or ban its services completely for operating within their jurisdictions without authorization

2021-09-28Deep Dive

Binance blocks fiat deposits and spot crypto trading for Singapore users

Binance has announced some changes to its crypto trading services for customers in Singapore.　　According to a statement on its website published on Monday, Singapore-based users will be geo-fenced from certain account functions on the Binance.com website.　　Binance users in Singapore will no longer have access to fiat deposits, crypto spot trading, liquid swap and crypto purchases via fiat channels on the website.　　“We will be restricting Singapore users in respect of the Regulated Payments Services in-line with our commitment to compliance,” the statement added.　　Based on the new directive, Binance users in Singapore have been urged to cease all related activities impacted by the announcement and to withdraw their fiat and crypto holdings to avoid any disputes.　　Mondays announcement is the latest restriction imposed by Binance on its customers in Singapore. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Binance initially rolled back some of its product offerings in the city-state.　　At the time, the crypto exchange giant blocked Singapore dollar-denominated crypto trading following warnings from the Monetary Authority of Singapore that the platform had violated local payment laws. A similar action was also taken in South Korea back in August, with the platform halting Korean won-denominated trading.　　Binance also blocked users in Singapore from downloading its mobile platform

2021-09-27Deep Dive

Is A Bitcoin Futures ETF What US Investors Want?

“At least four asset managers have filed for ETFs that invest in bitcoin futures after Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler earlier this month indicated that he could approve such funds. But investors may not want them in lieu of physically backed bitcoin ETFs, analysts have said.”　　According to Investopedia, “A bitcoin ETF mimics the price of the digital currency, allowing investors to buy into the ETF without trading bitcoin itself.” However, who‘s interested in ETFs when bitcoin, the asset, is widely available？ Some investors or groups simply can’t invest in bitcoin because their own internal rules won‘t allow them to. They can’t purchase bitcoin through a brokerage account. No financial institution backs it, so no one protects them. And, of course, theres the feared volatility.　　“A Bitcoin ETF could help get around those restrictions since the format is more widely accepted. ”There are all sorts of custody and regulatory hurdles for big financial institutions to jump through,“ said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. ”If it were offered in an ETF, it clears a lot of that up for financial institutions.　　However, it appears that the SEC wont approve one any time soon. Why would they

2021-09-27Deep Dive

...

440442

...

737