Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Visa whitepaper describes NFTs as a ‘promising medium for fan engagement’

Visas splash into the NFT market was driven by an evaluation of the underlying technology and its ability to serve as a “promising medium for fan engagement,” according to a recent whitepaper published by the global payments giant.　　The Aug. 23 publication described nonfungible tokens as an important innovation during the pandemic, where strict shelter-in-place orders limited live sports, entertainment and music festivals. At the same time, NFTs are emerging at a time when fans are eager to join digital communities centered around their favorite artists or sports teams.　　Professional sports were hit especially hard by the pandemic, with an estimated $18 billion in lost revenue across major leagues worldwide. According to Visa, this further drives the “need to diversify revenue and focus on technology to reposition businesses for growth opportunities and to capture the attention of fans.”　　In this sense, “NFTs appeal to collectors, fans, teams, leagues, and talent,” the report said. In particular, NFTs can become primary sources of fan engagement, customer relationship management and newer revenue streams. The main NFT use cases identified were collectibles, art and gaming.　　For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit- the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.　　The whitepaper was released alongside an announcement from Visa that it

2021-08-30Deep Dive

Digital Pound Does Not Sound Like a Good Idea to 30% of Brits: Survey

Central bank digital currency launched by the British government is not something desirable for one-third of Britons, while 24% see potential in the move.　　According to recent research, every third British citizen fears that a potential digital pound could bring more harm than benefits to the UK economic system. In contrast, 24% believe the so-called Britcoin would turn to be a successful financial instrument.　　Britcoin Brings More Suspicion Than Excitement　　The US journalism company Politico surveyed 2,500 British adults to determine their opinion on issuing a digital version of the local pound currency. The majority of the respondents (30%) stated they do not support such an idea.　　According to them, the British CBDC, also known as Britcoin, would not positively impact the local economy, which passes through difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit.　　Fear of hackers and cyber attacks ranked as a top reason why Brits doubt owning digital pounds since 73% picked this answer. Its worth noting that David Lindberg – Chief Executive of retail banking at NatWest – recently warned investors to beware of dealing with virtual assets in Britain. He went further, stating that the Kingdom is a “paradise for scammers.”　　Keeping in mind that central bank digital currencies are

2021-08-30Deep Dive

Why Ethereum NFT Whales are Obsessed With the Number Eight

Yesterday, CryptoPunk #8888 sold for 888.8 ETH and an EtherRock sold for 888 ETH. 64 CryptoPunks are listed for 888 ETH, and Cai Wensheng, the co-founder and chairman of Meitu, bought CryptoPunk #8236. Whats so special about the number 8？　　One theory is that Chinese whales are lured by the magic number. In Chinese culture, the number 8, or 八, is pronounced like 發 (fa), which means “wealth” and “prosper.” Other numbers are also favored by the Chinese: 1314 means “in this life forever” and 520 means “I love you.”　　“NFTs associated with [these] numbers could catch bids from the [Chinese whales] that want to give them to their significant others,” one Chinese investor told Decrypt.　　The investor, who asked not to be named, said that wealthy Chinese investors are snapping up NFTs with increasing regularity.　　He shared details of an exclusive WeChat group for bonafide CryptoPunk owners and said membership of the Chinese-speaking group rose from 20 to more than 100 in the last fortnight.　　A screenshot of the WeChat CryptoPunk group, the authenticity of which couldnt be independently verified.　　The membership bump suggests that the cachet of NFTs among Chinese high society is on the rise. “Theyve got rich and powerful friends and [are]

2021-08-30Deep Dive

Dubai Poised to Benefit From Growth of Crypto, Says Bittrex CEO

Recent efforts in Dubai by the DMCC and the Dubai Airport Free Zone, and the Securities and Commodities Exchange have paved the way for Dubai to become an attractive destination for crypto-based asset trading.　　Dubai – Middle East Crypto Panacea　　Bittrex Global‘s chief executive officer is hailing Dubai as a well-positioned beneficiary of the growing cryptocurrency market in the Middle East, as Dubai’s regulators are pushing toward an acceptance of blockchain-based technologies.　　According to the Bittrex CEO, Stephen Stonberg, the UAE and Dubai are becoming great places to “set up your token project, or run a cryptocurrency exchange.”　　For more blockchain news, please download WikiBit- the Global Blockchain Regulatory Inquiry APP.　　Paving the way for Dubais crypto industry　　Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority has signed an agreement with the Securities and Commodities Exchange, that would pave the way for the regulation, trading and offering of cryptocurrency assets within the free zone. The free zone is a business hub located within the Dubai International airport that boasts 1800 registered businesses from 20+ sectors, who benefit from a business-focused regulatory and tax environment that offers, amongst other benefits, total ownership and full repatriation of earnings. Businesses operating in the UAE must register for a particular trade license, either

2021-08-30Deep Dive

Crypto Watch: Newest Companies Entering Cryptocurrency and Upcoming Blockchain Games

Crypto Watch: Companies New in Digital Coin Market　　PayPal recently announced that more consumers could soon buy, sell, and hold digital currencies using their virtual wallets. The giant online app would further expand its new crypto feature in the United Kingdom, offering residents to use their accounts to invest in popular crypto brands, such as Litecoin, Bitcoin, and Ethereum. 　　A man talks on a mobile phone in a shop displaying a bitcoin sign during the opening ceremony of the first bitcoin retail shop in Hong Kong on February 28, 2014. Bitcoin was invented in the wake of the global financial crisis by a mysterious computer guru using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and unlike other currencies.　　“The tokens and coins have been around for a while but you had to be a relatively sophisticated user to be able to access that... having that on a platform like ours makes a really good entry point,” said Jose Fernandez da Ponte, PayPals Blockchain General Manager, who is also handling the apps segment for cryptocurrencies. 　　PayPal already launched its digital currency service in the United States back in October 2020. Since it would also reach the United Kingdom, some experts claimed the app would further expand

2021-08-30Deep Dive

Solana (SOL): The Ethereum (ETH) rival’s claim to fame

Almost a year and a half after its launch in March 2020, Solanas SOL token made its way into the top ten cryptocurrencies following a price surge of over 72% and hitting an all-time high of $81.81 in the past week.　　With the project‘s market cap currently standing at $21.1 billion, futurists say that Solana has just gotten started. Here’s a look at the technology behind this revolutionary project and the factors that contributed to its recent success.　　Solving the Blockchain Trilemma　　Solanas first victory comes in the form of its unprecedented ability to solve the blockchain trilemma, a problem that has haunted developers since the early days of blockchain technology. It basically states that amongst the three factors of decentralization, scalability, and security, a blockchain network must sacrifice one to properly implement the other two.　　Solana is a fourth-generation blockchain network that seems to have found a solution to this problem. It is one of the only web-scale blockchain networks that managed to achieve a throughput of 50,000 TPS with its testnet, solving the issue of scalability without layer-2 solutions.　　Additionally, Solana combines the proof-of-stake (PoS) mechanism with 8-core technologies like PoH (proof-of-history), Tower BFT, Turbine, Gulf Stream, Sealevel, Pipeline, Cloudbreak, and Achievers to

2021-08-30Deep Dive

Bitcoin's key momentum metric just flashed bearish with BTC price pinned under $50K

The run-up in the Bitcoin (BTC) price toward $50,000 last week risks exhaustion due to a mismatch between the cryptocurrencys price and momentum trends.　　So it appears the Bitcoins price and relative strength index (RSI) have been moving in the opposite direction since late July. In doing so, even a strong push higher in the BTC/USD bids has coincided with lower peaks in momentum, suggesting that the pairs upside momentum is weakening out.Bearish divergence　　A normal RSI momentum tends to tail the price action. That said, it rises when the price rises and falls when the price drops. But in some cases, the RSI deviates from pursuing the price trends, leading to a so-called RSI divergence.　　Technical analysts consider RSI divergence as a powerful signal to spot price reversals. For instance, a bullish divergence, wherein the price falls and RSI rises, prompts traders to buy the asset in anticipation of a rebound. Similarly, a bearish divergence—featuring rising prices and falling RSI—prompts traders to take profits at the top while expecting a pullback.　　The Bitcoin daily chart below shows the cryptocurrency in bearish divergence.　　BTC/USD 1D chart featuring bearish divergence. Source: TradingView.com　　The downside signal appears as Bitcoin struggles to break bullish above $50,000. As of Sunday,

2021-08-29Deep Dive

How does the infrastructure bill affect the mining industry in the US?

On August 10, the United States Senate voted to pass a $1 trillion bill to revitalize America‘s infrastructure. From the standpoint of the crypto community, miners in particular, the Senate’s foray into crypto legislation has been a disaster. Unless the language defining brokers in the bill is clarified, it will singlehandedly thwart the growth of a domestic industry just as it is taking off.　　As written, the bill allows for multiple interpretations of the term “broker.” In the English language, there is no real controversy — or ambiguity — about what a broker does. According to Merriam-Websters online dictionary, a broker is “one who acts as an intermediary: such as […] an agent who negotiates contracts of purchase and sale (as of real estate, commodities, or securities).” In traditional finance, brokers purchase and sell financial assets, such as stock and bonds, for their clients. Compare this with miners of Bitcoin (BTC), the dominant cryptocurrency. In contrast to brokers, Bitcoin miners solve cryptographic puzzles to validate new blocks, an essential activity for the Bitcoin network to operate. The miners receive Bitcoin as compensation for providing this computation service. Thus, they definitively are not brokers.　　Unfortunately, the bill passed by the Senate contains overly

2021-08-29Deep Dive

Crypto, Congress and the Commission: What’s next for the ‘Wild West’?

The entire cryptocurrency industry is waking up to a new reality. Politicians and regulators have decided to wade into the space, which had flown mainly under their radar until now. A House committee chair is launching a working group; the Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking new authorities to regulate digital assets as securities; and the Senate-passed infrastructure bill includes $28 billion in tax revenues from crypto transactions.　　This last handful of weeks has arguably seen more regulatory activity around digital currencies since the name Satoshi Nakamoto first entered the popular lexicon. Anyone whose business deals in this asset class will need to pay close attention.Digital asset provision in the infrastructure bill　　The Senates $1.2 trillion infrastructure framework, which became the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enjoyed strong bipartisan support. However, one of the more contentious provisions is a “pay-for” related to reporting and taxing cryptocurrencies.　　Proponents of the provision say it will help close the “tax gap” and generate approximately $28 billion in new revenue. Specifically, the provision would require anyone responsible for regularly effectuating transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person to be added to the category of “broker.” They would also be required to provide tax information to

2021-08-29Deep Dive

3 ways traders use Bitcoin futures to generate profit

Whenever theres data out on futures contracts liquidation, many novice investors and analysts instinctively conclude that its degenerate gamblers using high leverage or other risky instruments. Theres no doubt that some derivatives exchanges are known for incentivizing retail trading to use excessive leverage, but that does not account for the entire derivatives market.　　Recently, concerned investors like Nithin Kamath, the founder and CEO at Zerodha, questioned how derivatives exchanges could handle extreme volatility while offering 100x leverage.　　On June 16, journalist Colin Wu tweeted that Huobi had temporarily dropped the maximum trading leverage to 5x for new users. By the end of the month, the exchange had banned China-based users from trading derivatives on the platform.　　After some regulatory pressure and possible complaints from the community, Binance futures limited new users leverage trading at 20x on July 19. A week later, FTX followed the decision citing “efforts to encourage responsible trading.”　　FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried asserted that the average open leverage position was roughly 2x, and only “a tiny fraction of activity on the platform” would be impacted. Its unknown whether these decisions have been coordinated or even mandated by some regulator.　　Cointelegraph previously showed how a cryptocurrencies typical 5% volatility causes 20x or higher

2021-08-29Deep Dive

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