Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Fed’s Kashkari on Crypto: "95 Percent Fraud, Hype, Noise"

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari delivered a blistering critique of the cryptocurrency industry during his recent speech at PNWERs Annual Summit in Big Sky, Montana: “Cryptocurrency is 95 percent fraud, hype, noise, and confusion.”　　Kashkari claims that he had a more optimistic view of crypto all the way back in 2015.　　He evidently takes issue with the abundance of altcoins, referring to them as “garbage coins.”　　The American banker also joked about how easy it is to create ones own Bitcoin copycat, floating the idea of issuing “Montana Coin.”　　This is far from the first time that Kashkari lashes out at cryptocurrencies. In June, he left a snarky comment under a LinkedIn post of Coinbases chief legal officer, calling Dogecoin a “Ponzi.”　　Image by linkedin.com　　As reported by U.Today, he also compared Bitcoin to Beanie Babies back in February: “A few years ago, people were speculating on Beanie Babies. Now theyre speculating on Bitcoin.”　　The Fed president gained notoriety within the cryptocurrency community after famously saying that the central bank was willing to print an infinite amount of cash on CBSs “60 Minutes” back in March 2020.　　He made the viral statement around the same time the Fed fired up its money-printing presses to shore

2021-08-19Deep Dive

Publicly Listed Mortgage Company Announces Plans To Accept Payments in Bitcoin and Crypto: Report

New York Stock Exchange-listed mortgage firm United Wholesale Mortgage Holdings Corporation (NYSE: UWMC) says it intends to accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment.　　In an earnings call during the release of the companys second-quarter 2021 results, the chairman and CEO of the publicly listed firm, Mat Ishbia, says the plan could take effect in the coming months.　　“We‘ve evaluated the feasibility, and we’re looking forward to being the first mortgage company in America to accept cryptocurrency to satisfy mortgage payments.”　　“That‘s something that we’ve been working on, and were excited that hopefully, in Q3, we can actually execute on that before anyone in the country because we are a leader in technology and innovation.”　　In an interview with the Free Press, Ishbia says they plan to initially accept Bitcoin (BTC) before expanding the list to other crypto assets.　　“I think we‘re starting with Bitcoin, but we’re looking at Ethereum and others. Were going to walk before we run…”　　“That‘s the plan. Obviously, [there are] no guarantees – we’re still working through some details. But absolutely.”　　The announcement comes as the company‘s total gains margin saw a significant drop in the second quarter amid a rise in the volume of closed mortgages. UWMC’s closed loan volume rose

2021-08-19Deep Dive

Institutional Players May Dominate Bitcoin Trading Within 3 Years - Report

Institutional players could dominate bitcoin (BTC) trading in the near future, as surveyed institutions expect asset managers, funds, and banks to be the most significant contributors to trading volume in the next three years, according to a report released by digital asset research firm Arcane Research.　　“With the domino effect at play, the trend of rising institutional demand is expected to continue. Some are beginning to dip their toes into the market,” according to the report which was prepared in partnership with institutional crypto exchange LMAX Digital which surveyed its customers.　　Respondents showed the strongest conviction that asset managers and funds will dominate the crypto markets trading volume within the next three years, with about 70% of respondents, followed by banks, at about 40%, and brokers, with some 30%.　　The “survey results show us that institutional investors still see some issues with the current crypto market, but they expect to be a central part of it in the future,” Arcane Research said.　　Comparing the ongoing wave that has fuelled the crypto markets growth and the year 2017, Arcane Research says there is a fundamental difference between now and the events that occurred last time bitcoin topped out.　　“In late 2017, the market was fueled by

2021-08-19Deep Dive

Ethereum ‘liquidity crisis’ could see new ETH all-time high before Bitcoin — Analyst

Ethereums native token, Ether (ETH), may beat Bitcoin (BTC) to new all-time highs, fresh analysis reveals.　　In a tweet on Wednesday, Ki Young Ju, CEO of on-chain analytics service CryptoQuant, highlighted a “sell-side liquidity crisis” that could yet give ETH the edge over BTC.Ether liquidity shortfall “intensifying”　　With Bitcoin up over 50% versus its lows of $29,000, altcoins have also begun to reawaken, with Ether as no exception.　　The largest altcoin has recaptured $3,000, a level that, this week, is now in the process of being retested as support.　　Despite attention focusing on Bitcoin reclaiming $50,000, optimism over Ether remains high after its successful London hard fork deployment earlier this month.　　Thanks in part to the supply changes pushed through via the hard fork, a liquidity shortfall could ultimately serve to push ETH/USD to new historic peaks before BTC/USD manages to do the same.　　“$ETH might reach its all-time high earlier than $BTC in the long term,” Ki summarized.　　“Current $ETH price is closer to ATH compared to $BTC. Higher demand, lower supply. $ETH sell-side liquidity crisis still intensifies, while $BTC exchange reserve stopped its downward trend in May.”　　　　BTC exchange reserve chart. Source: CryptoQuant　　In terms of numbers, Bitcoin exchange reserves have been declining since May, only to

2021-08-18Deep Dive

Bitcoin bulls at risk? Tether growth rate flatlines despite market cap crossing $64B

Tether Holdings Ltd, the issuer of the largest stablecoin, Tether (USDT), reported that its total market capitalization had crossed $64 billion for the first time in history.　　The company called the event a “milestone,” adding that it is another indication of the cryptocurrency markets “continued trust and confidence” in its stablecoin.　　In detail, Tethers business model revolves around providing digitized dollars to cryptocurrency traders and investors. In doing so, the company offers them a way to park their volatile digital assets into USDT, a digital asset that maintains a one-to-one peg to the United States dollar.　　As a result, Tether assists crypto traders and investors cut through the hassle of transferring their digital asset sale proceeds to a bank account.　　The companys business model has secured itself in the crypto industry, insomuch that trades between Bitcoin (BTC) and USDT are typically twice as frequent as trades between Bitcoin and the U.S. dollar.Signaling crypto demand　　Tether officials have earlier clarified that its fresh USDT issuances take place to meet orders from customers.　　Therefore, a rising USDT market cap indicates that traders and investors may want to purchase the stablecoin and deploy it to purchase digital assets such as Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) and/or put them into yield

2021-08-18Deep Dive

Netherlands’ Central Bank Issues Binance Warning

The Dutch central bank joined the ranks of regulators issuing warnings about crypto exchange Binance operating without permission.　　De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) said Wednesday that “Binance is providing crypto services in the Netherlands without the required legal registration.”　　Binance is not in compliance with the countrys anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing act, and is offering custodian wallets and services illegally, the DNB said.　　The warning pertains to Binance Holdings Ltd. as well as other Binance entities that offer crypto services in the Netherlands.　　DNBs announcement follows similar warnings from financial overseers in a number of jurisdictions in recent months, including the U.K., Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

2021-08-18Deep Dive

Can Dogecoin Make It to $1?

DOGE became one of the biggest success stories of the year, as it went from being a “joke” coin to one of the most popular coins in the cryptocurrency sector. Mainly, on-chain activity, rising trading volumes on top exchanges, and an increase in attention from major influencers played a critical role in the cryptocurrency’s journey.　　The same was highlighted in a series of tweets by Philip Gradwell, chief economist at Chainalysis. He stressed upon the fact that the Doge’s adoption stood at the highest level since the 2017 bull market. New users who have held the token for less than six months currently held 25% of the circulating supply.　　Continuing the same thread, Gradwell provided a deeper insight into the on-chain activity for the trending altcoin. It recorded an average of 32,000 daily active users (DAUs) in 2021.　　DOGE was trading at the $0.29 mark at press time. The coin still had a long way to go to reach the $1 benchmark, to say the least. Lastly, big influencers such as Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, certainly played their part in promoting their preferred token.　　- END -

2021-08-18Deep Dive

The President of Brazil’s Central Bank Has a Meeting With Brian Brooks and Jeremy Allaire

The president of the Central Bank of Brazil is clearly serious about cryptocurrencies, and it seems that the country is becoming more and more interested in exploring blockchain solutions to increase the efficiency of its financial system.　　According to the Official Schedule of the Central Banks Authorities, Roberto Campos Neto, the head of the Central Bank, held a videoconference with Brian Brooks and Jeremy Allaire on August 16 at 11 a.m.　　Agenda for the President of Brazil‘s Central Bank. Image: Brazil’s Central Bank　　Also participating were the co-founders of Valor Capital Group LLC, a venture capital firm that has invested heavily in the development of several Brazilian startups.　　Brazil Wants To Win The Crypto Race　　The Central Bank did not disclose further details. The agenda explicitly states that the meeting was closed to the press, making its content confidential. The only thing that was mentioned is that they discussed institutional matters.　　Brazil is the most advanced country in South America in terms of cryptocurrency ETFs. It currently holds 2 Bitcoin ETFs, an Ethereum ETF, and another ETF that tracks a basket of cryptocurrencies. In addition, the contry is experimenting with blockchain technologies under a regulatory sandbox that started in 2020.　　Earlier this year, Brazil developed the PIX

2021-08-18Deep Dive

3 Reasons For Solana’s (SOL) 90% Surge in 7 Days

Solana made headlines this week following a 90% surge. Here are three possible reasons for the astronomic rally.　　Solana is undoubtedly one of the hottest projects this year, with a lot of the communitys attention headed its way for quite some time now.　　However, the past 7 days have been an absolutely wild ride for Solana‘s price as it’s up around 90% over the period. The chart surely is impressive:　　SOL/USD. Source: TradingView　　The astronomic rally saw SOL‘s price head from slightly below $40 to today’s high at $75, and it also saw the interest in the cryptocurrency surge by about 15% in the same timeframe.　　Source: Google Trends　　With this said, lets take a look at some of the possible reasons for which the price of Solana increased so much in such a short time.　　Broader Market Recover　　Right off the bat, it‘s important to note that Solana’s price isnt the only thing increasing throughout the past week.　　The entire market is painted green, as can be seen in the heatmap below.　　Source: Quantify Crypto　　It becomes clear that Solana is not the only cryptocurrency that‘s charting notable gains – a lot of them are. Luna presents similar gains, while some larger-cap altcoins such as Cardano’s ADA and Ripples XRP

2021-08-18Deep Dive

Bitcoin-Friendly Cathie Wood’s ARK Keeps Dumping Shares of Coinbase, GBTC, Square, Tesla, Here’s Why

According to a recent tweet by Chinese journalist Colin Wu, who covers everything to do with blockchain and cryptocurrencies, Cathie Woods ARK exchange-traded fund continues to reduce its holdings of stocks that belong to Coinbase, Square and other Bitcoin- and crypto-related companies.　　Other tech companies, such as Tesla, are also on that list.　　ARK Invests ETF keeps dropping crypto-related shares　　Data shared by Wu shows that ARKK has been reducing its holdings of shares that belong to large cryptocurrency-related companies and tech companies as well.　　Thus, the amount of shares of Coinbase, Square, Twitter and Tesla owned by ARKK has seen a decline.　　The reason cited for this is the downtrend in tech companies stocks. Now, ARKK has reduced its ownership of Coinbase stocks by 92,570 shares, and the number of shares of Jack Dorseys Square has fallen by 138,398 and Twitter shares by 49,608.　　Wu claims that among those companies is also Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (ARKKs holdings are down by 191,181 GBTC).　　However, the source list does not contain this Barry Silbert-affiliated company.　　Cathie Woods ARK invested in Twitter on Dorseys Bitcoin announcement　　Previously this year, U.Today reported that Ark Invest bought $88.74 million worth of Twitter shares (TWTR)—123,786 of them were purchased—after the social networks CEO Jack

2021-08-18Deep Dive

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