Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

dYdX (DYDX) DeFi Surpasses Uniswap (UNI) by Trading Volume

Decentralized exchange dYdX (DYDX) is going through an unparalleled spike of net trading volume across its products.　　$1.33 billion traded on dYdX in 24 hours　　According to information shared by its founder, Antonio Juliano, top-tier decentralized exchange dYdX is now the most popular DEX in the industry.　　Today, on Sept. 17, 2021, amidst a 47% increase in daily trading volume, the aggregated amount of all trades on dYdX exceeded $1.334 billion.　　Uniswap v3, a flagship Ethereum-based decentralized exchange, processed $1.15 billion, or 0.47% less than yesterday.　　The leading Defi on Binance Smart Chain (BSC), PancakeSwap (CAKE), also prints a double-digit increase in trading volume. For PancakeSwap, this indicator is above $1.02 billion.　　Largest airdrop so far　　On Sept. 8, 2021, dYdX released its governance token, DYDX, and listed it on multiple mainstream platforms.　　Also, 64,306 dYdX users received DYDX in an unparalleled airdrop. In total, 75 million tokens were distributed: each user received between 310 and 9,529 tokens.　　Image by Coingecko　　As DYDX has printed another all-time high earlier today, the net value of the most generous token drops sent to early dYdX advocates exceeds $171,500 now.　　For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit- the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.

2021-09-18Deep Dive

CFTC Investigating Binance Over Insider Trading: Report

Binance, which has been plagued of late by high-profile regulatory admonitions, is now under investigation over insider trading claims as well, according to a report today from Bloomberg.　　The report, which cites anonymous sources with knowledge of the investigation, states that that Commodity Futures Trading Commission is involved. The CFTC views Bitcoin—traded in the millions on Binance—as a commodity that falls under its jurisdiction in cases of fraud or market manipulation. The CFTC also has regulatory purview over derivatives trading in the U.S. Such crypto trading products are offered on Binances global exchange but not on its U.S.-based affiliate.　　Binance is already being probed by the CFTC, which has been looking into whether the worlds top exchange illegally allowed U.S. residents to use the service. The Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service have also been looking into the firms activities, according to a May report.　　Binances troubles extend well beyond U.S. borders. The UK Financial Conduct Authority kicked things off in June, issuing a consumer warning about Binance Markets Limited, which Binance had acquired and renamed in hopes that it would become a UK-only exchange.　　Things worsened on the regulatory front in July when the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority said the company wasnt

2021-09-18Deep Dive

Coinbase Tops the List of Fastest-Growing Finance Apps

Crypto adoption has hit its peak this bull season with millions of new users joining the ecosystem, some out of curiosity while others get in hopes of making quick money. A recent report from Business Insider suggests that crypto apps have dominated the chart of fastest-growing financial applications and among those crypto apps, Coinbase is currently at the top of the list.　　As per the data on App downloads from Apptopia, Coinbase Pro was the fastest growing financial app with a rise of over 300% from the last week in the number of downloads. Arch rival Binance secured the fourth spot on the list.　　Source: Apptopia　　Coinbase is one of the leading global crypto exchanges based out of New York, the crypto platform has reported 50 million registered users and over a billion dollars in profits in its quarterly report. The exchange also went public in April this year on Nasdaq, giving it the much necessary exposure to a broader set of investors.　　Coinbase Plans to Continue Product Expansion Despite SECs Threat　　Coinbase recently also filed with the National Futures Association (NFA) to obtain a license for offering crypto derivative services amid the rising popularity of derivative products. The announcement comes at the heal of

2021-09-18Deep Dive

Biden Administration to Fight Cryptocurrency Ransomware Payments with Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury Department is intending to introduce a slew of sanctions that are meant to curb cryptocurrency ransomware payments next week, according to a Sept. 17 report by The Wall Street Journal.　　For now, it is not clear what specific entities will be targeted by the Biden administration in its first major effort to make it harder for cybercriminals to use crypto as a means of monetization.　　The report says that the Treasury will not go as far as putting clamps on the entire crypto infrastructure for enabling the rapid spread of ransomware. Instead, government officials have zeroed in on some concrete targets.　　The administration hopes that the sanctions will serve as a deterrent for other crypto entities involved in ransomware attacks.　　Such features as privacy and transportability have made cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin the darling of cybercriminals.　　After Colonial Pipeline, meat supplier JBS and IT firm Kaseya suffered crippling hacks and, within just two months, digital assets emerged as a national security issue.　　As reported by U.Today, cryptos role in facilitating ransomware was discussed in detail during a July Senate hearing. Richard Downing, deputy assistant attorney general in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, said that enhancing the governments cryptocurrency tracking abilities

2021-09-18Deep Dive

Bitcoin sees ‘quite healthy’ consolidation on $200M BTC options expiry day

Bitcoin (BTC) ranged around $48,000 on Friday as hopes of a bull run endured thanks to low supply and upcoming corporate disclosures.　　BTC/USD 1-hour candle chart (Bitstamp). Source: TradingViewAnticipation builds for cross-crypto breakout　　Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD continuing to consolidate into Friday, with the latest options expiry now due.　　The pair had made little progress since bouncing off $47,000 the day before, but bullish expectations among analysts were also firmly intact.　　As Cointelegraph reported, these revolve around a “supply squeeze” driving prices up — a combination of increased demand while long-term holders already own almost 80% of the supply.　　“Keep in mind alt supply, and ETF season ahead likely to be key drivers + disclosures,” trader Pentoshi noted as part of comments on the BTC price outlook.　　Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe was similarly cool about current market activity.　　“I dont think you should worry about the market consolidating here. Quite healthy,” he summarized on the day. “Altcoins still rocking. Great months to come in crypto.”　　A look at buy and sell levels on major exchange Binance confirmed resistance beginning at $48,600, this having crept lower during the consolidation. Buy interest, meanwhile, still lay at $44,000.　　BTC/USD buy and sell levels (Binance) as

2021-09-17Deep Dive

PayPal Allows All U.K. Users to Buy and Sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash Facebook

San Jose-based financial technology giant PayPal has announced that all of its eligible customers can now buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies in the U.K.　　The list of supported digital assets includes Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin.　　PayPal ventured into the cryptocurrency sector in October, gradually bringing the new functionality to all U.S. users. 　　As reported by U.Today, the company initially announced that it would expand its crypto service across the pond back in February.　　In late August, PayPal started rolling out support for the aforementioned cryptocurrencies in the U.K.　　Jose Fernandez da Ponte, the companys blockchain lead, said that PayPal strived to contribute to shaping the role of cryptocurrencies in global finance: 　　We are committed to continue working closely with regulators in the UK, and around the world, to offer our support and meaningfully contribute to shaping the role digital currencies will play in the future of global finance and commerce. 　　In July, the payments behemoth also opened several cryptocurrency-related job positions in Ireland.

2021-09-17Deep Dive

BTC Upside Potential Limited But Remains Fundamentally Strong To Hit $50,000

Bitcoin price holds above robust support despite $48,000 seller congestion zone thwarting bullish efforts.　　A spike in on-chain levels throughout the week shows that Bitcoin is fundamentally ready to hit higher levels.　　Bitcoin bulls targeted closing the gap to $50,000 before this week came to an end. However, price action appears to have been limited to under $48,000. Prior, the flagship cryptocurrency plunged to $43,477 (data by Coinbase) following a massive breakdown from $52,925, September highs.　　Bitcoin is teetering slightly below $48,000 while bulls get ready to take down this primary barrier at the time of writing. The mission is to focus on bring a fierce fight to levels heading to $50,000. Trading above the psychological resistance at $50,000 may trigger more buy orders as investors flock to the market in speculation for a run-up to $60,000.Bitcoin Bulls Keep Support Levels Intact　　Despite the enormous seller concentration at $48,000, as highlighted 50% Fibonacci level, Bitcoin has settled above $47,000 for near three days. A confluence zone formed by the 100 Simple Moving Average (SMA) and the 200 SMA reinforce this demand area, allowing bulls to focus on gaining ground.　　Bitcoin must make a four-hour close above $48,000 to validate the upswing to $50,000. The Relative

2021-09-17Deep Dive

South Korean Lawmaker Says Deferring Crypto Taxation is Inevitable, Here is Why

The moves by the South Korea Ministry of Strategy and Finance to tax incomes bordering on digital currencies as planned by January 1 may be an exercise in futility. Faulting the plans, one of the countrys lawmakers, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea said the relevant authorities or stakeholders lack the right infrastructure to make this tax enforcement policy a success.　　“In a situation where the relevant taxation infrastructure is not sufficiently prepared, the deferral of taxation on virtual assets is no longer an option but an inevitable situation,” he said.　　Citing an example, Rep Noh noted that in cases such as transactions between overseas virtual asset exchanges or peer-to-peer ( P2P ) transactions, it is difficult to secure taxation data, which can create a tax blind spot. In order to cover up these blind spots, the lawmaker said other lawmakers will be persuaded that pending loopholes in the tax policy can be pursued as necessary.　　“As the relevant laws for tax deferral and real tax cuts are currently pending in the standing committee, we will actively persuade fellow lawmakers so that they can be dealt with in the regular National Assembly,” he submitted.　　While the original bill classifies incomes obtained

2021-09-17Deep Dive

Rising Inflation Could “Destabilize” Stablecoins And Bring Crypto Industry Down

In the US, inflation has been on the rise throughout the entire year. Just last month, the consumer price index (CPI) rose by 0.3%. While this has been quite a decline compared to April and May when prices rose by 0.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis, it is still a nerve-racking high.　　It has been perceived that rising inflation would benefit crypto since more people would consider acquiring digital assets to hedge fiat depreciation. However, if the US dollar loses value significantly and becomes unstable, it will also adversely impact US-pegged stablecoins, which would infect the entire crypto ecosystem.　　In a recent tweet, Brian Armstrong, CEO at Coinbase, has pointed out this issue and asked for possible solutions.　　Crypto Needs to Adapt　　Stablecoins are known as the backbone of the crypto ecosystem. They are the safe zone for when the industry goes wild and plummets by double-digit percentages in a matter of hours. Further, they have taken the cross-border payments by storm, so much so that regulators from across the globe warn stablecoins could disrupt banking systems.　　However, these alleged “stablecoins” have a less-known issue: they are hyper reliant on the US dollar. Almost all major stablecoins are pegged to the US dollar. This means

2021-09-17Deep Dive

200 smart contracts launch on Cardano ... but there's a catch

More than 200 smart contracts have been listed on the Cardano blockchain explorer following the Alonzo upgrade on September 13 — but theres a catch.　　As of now, the smart contracts are in a timelock and cannot be used by developers until theyre released.　　Smart contracts have been a long-anticipated feature on Cardano since its launch in 2017 and the functionality was finally enabled with the recent Alonzo hard fork.　　Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano and IOHK, said on September 17 that the DeFi space is “up for grabs,” now that Cardano supports smart contracts　　Hoskinson said that the winners of what he called the “second wave” of DeFi were going to have liquidity and interoperability, the ability to move multi-chain and cost predictability. “We need governance, we need certification, we need insurance, we need regulation on these things, metadata identity… at the same time, you need to decentralize,” he said, adding:“The way we constructed Cardano was for that second wave.”　　Several notable projects have smart contracts in timelock or are planning on launching soon.　　$GREED, a rewards token redistributing $ADA back to holders, Liqwid, an open source and non-custodial liquidity protocol for interest rate curves, SingularityNET, a platform that lets anyone create, share and

2021-09-17Deep Dive

...

450452

...

737