Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

The fiendish new trick cyber-criminals are using to evade capture

“Follow the money” - for generations its been the mantra of investigators looking for criminals.　　In the cyber-realm, this battle between criminals and the authorities has been raging for years.　　Despite the anonymous nature of cryptocurrencies, dozens of cyber-criminals have been caught in the last two years thanks to new techniques able to track their funds around the cryptocurrency blockchain - a public list of all transactions between wallets.　　But could the tide be turning？　　A new service has launched on the darknet offering criminals a way to check how “clean” their digital coins are.　　“Were seeing criminals start to fight back against blockchain analytics and this service is a first,” explained Dr Tom Robinson, chief scientist and founder at analysis provider Elliptic, who discovered the website.　　“Its called Antianalysis and criminals are now able to check their own Bitcoin wallets and see whether any association with criminal activity could be flagged by authorities,” Dr Robinson said.　　Elliptic says the discovery shows how sophisticated cyber-crime networks are becoming, and how worried criminals are about getting caught.　　“Its a very valuable technique. If your funds are tainted, you can then do more laundering and try to remove that association with criminal activity until you have clean coins,” he said.　　Dr

2021-08-13Deep Dive

Blockchain ETFs Remove The Downside Of Excessive Volatility In Crypto ETFs

The lack of a Bitcoin ETF in the US is a long-running saga. Many institutions are in the queue with the SEC to get their own particular ETF approved. However, with a Bitcoin or cryptocurrency ETF comes a level of volatility that perhaps some institutions are not happy with. Therefore, a blockchain ETF might well be the way forward for some.　　In an article on Investing.com, 2 blockchain ETFs were discussed, together with the advantages for such funds.　　In the article, two researchers from ETH Zurich, and Imperial College, London described some of the use cases of blockchain:　　“Blockchain as a technology has gained much attention beyond the purpose of financial transactions – distributed cloud storage, smart property, Internet of Things, supply-chain management, health care, ownership and royalty distribution, and decentralized autonomous organizations.”　　Also, MarketsandMarkets Research highlighted the potential of blockchain:　　“The global blockchain market size is expected to grow from US$3.0 billion in 2020 to US$39.7 billion by 2025, at an impressive compound annual Growth rate (CAGR) of 67.3% during 2020–2025.”　　The article did point out the significant gains to be had in cryptocurrencies, as the following figures bear out:　　Bitcoin is up about 57% year-to-date (YTD);　　Cardano is up 881% YTD;　　Ethereum is up 334% YTD;　　Dogecoin is

2021-08-13Deep Dive

Here’s what Cardano (ADA) has been up to with the Ethiopia project

Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano (ADA) protocol and Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) CEO revealed the company‘s progress in Ethiopia, where one of the world’s biggest blockchain projects keeps unraveling.　　The blockchain research and engineering company behind the fifth largest crypto by market value is working with Ethiopias Ministry of Education on developing a universal student credentialing system, set to launch in early autumn 2021.　　 Eyeballing the whole national ID system　　“We‘ve got about a million people onboarded. It’s K through 12, and were going to do the first launch, I think, sometime in September or October,” Hoskinson told Bloomberg in an interview, adding the goal is to get five million students in a universal credentialing system that will haul everything from student attendance and grades to academic accomplishments and honors.　　“It‘s our intention to compete amongst others for the whole national ID system, which is about 110 million people,” he said, revealing the company’s ambition to further develop blockchain solutions in the country.　　Cardanos founder asserted that the company is concentrating its focus on zero-knowledge cryptography, saying it “is about the closest thing to magic” in the industry and, as he explained, a valuable tool for preserving human rights.　　Big believer in

2021-08-13Deep Dive

Circle CEO claims traditional banks will soon indulge in stablecoins

Circle Pay, one of the largest digital currency companys CEO, Jeremy Allaire commented on the efficiency of stablecoins and its bright future in the US banking system. He compared the stability and low risk offered by the stablecoin market to that of the traditional banking system.　　“Stablecoins are becoming so big that they are going to be part of that regulated federal banking system,”, Allaire told Squawk Box in an interview.　　He argued that the stablecoin market is like the existing commercial bank system. He highlighted that a dollars deposit into traditional bank accounts gives manifold benefits. These pros include lending systems, rehypothecation, accumulation of an asset basket, and on top of all, the freedom to redeem at any given time without risk. Furthermore, he compared the similarities in the benefits of both, stablecoins and the fiat banking system. He claimed that soon these similarities will be incorporated into the same market sphere when stablecoin will join the regulated federal banking system.　　Stablecoins are risky but democratic　　He agreed that there lies some risk of volatility even with the stablecoins. But, according to Allaire that is the “essence of payment systems today”. However, he emphasized that the crypto market demands absolute transparency, unlike the

2021-08-13Deep Dive

55% of the world’s top 100 banks reportedly have crypto and blockchain exposure

Global banking giants are reportedly increasing their involvement in the emerging crypto and blockchain firms by way of early- and late-stage funding for projects and businesses in the industry.　　According to research by Blockdata, a blockchain market intelligence outfit, 55 out of the top 100 banks by assets under management (AUM) have some form of exposure to the novel technology. This involvement reportedly cuts across direct and indirect investments in crypto and decentralized ledger technology firms by the banks themselves or via their subsidiaries.　　Blockdatas research places Barclays, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs among the most active backers of crypto and blockchain firms, with JPMorgan and BNP Paribas also identified as serial investors in the emerging space.　　These investments are part of a larger trend of significant backing for blockchain startups, with funding figures already doubling the amount recorded in 2020, according to a KPMG report.　　The research also shows crypto custody as a major focus point for banks delving into the crypto space. Indeed, almost a quarter of the top 100 banks by AUM are either developing crypto custody solutions or are backing startups that offer custodial services for digital assets.　　As previously reported by Cointelegraph, several banks in the United States, Asia and Europe

2021-08-13Deep Dive

Nasdaq Listed Technology Firm Announces Bitcoin and Ether Mining Plans

Powerbridge Technologies Co ., a Nasdaq-listed technology firm that offers SaaS solutions and blockchain applications announced it would invest and engage in Bitcoin and Ether mining globally. The mining operations will be environmental focused as the firm plans to mine BTC and ETH using clean energy. It has also assembled a team of crypto veterans to support the development of its crypto business.　　Powerbridge plans to establish a network of clean energy mining facilities across the globe as the company has a positive outlook on the crypto market. The firm also believes its crypto-mining operation could fuel the overall growth of the company.　　Stewart Lor, President, and Chief Financial Officer of the firm said,　　We are optimistic about the positive outlook of the cryptocurrency market. Our initiative to engage in crypto mining is an important part of our overall blockchain strategy. We strive to continually build clean energy-based BTC and ETH mining networks globally. We believe our crypto mining business will generate valuable digital assets that help accelerate the Companys growth.　　The Rising Clean Bitcoin Mining Initiative　　Ever since the Bitcoin mining, FUD began claiming BTC mining has a negative impact on the environment because of its high carbon footprint, a majority of crypto exchanges

2021-08-13Deep Dive

What the SEC can learn from the German regulator

The United States Securities and Exchange Commissions chairperson Gary Gensler announced this month that the crypto industry should not escape the purview of the regulator. He highlighted that decentralized finance (DeFi) trading and lending protocols need particular attention when it comes to investor protections.　　Regulation can extend into a menu of options that covers custody, reporting, counterparty verification and asset classification and issuance. Reports are surfacing that people are waiting with bated breath on how the SEC will regulate the DeFi industry, but Germanys Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, also known as BaFin, has found a way to apply existing securities law to the crypto sector.　　 Decentralized doesnt mean anonymous　　It is a utopian view that all DeFi will escape regulation. There will always be a compromise on how decentralized a platform is and the degrees of centralization that exist on different DeFi platforms. For example, even data oracles require some form of external input.　　Investors need choices. Those who have a fiduciary responsibility need to operate in a regulated environment and others who trade for themselves dont necessarily have a compliance team to satisfy. However, for DeFi to reach a $1 trillion market cap, institutional capital must enter the market that has been

2021-08-13Deep Dive

Here’s why EIP-1559 may not downgrade miners’ income?

EIP-1559 upgrade has been live for a week now. August 5th, Thursday, EIP-1559, along with four more EIPs, i.e., EIP-3198, EIP-3529, EIP-3541, and EIP-3554 went live with the Ethereum London upgrade. While the upgrade benefitted traders, providing fasters transactions. It threatened miners income by burning the majority of transaction fees and removing its entirety from circulation.　　ETH prices hike, miners income stabilizes　　With the EIP-1559 upgrade, the blockchain saw numerous changes that in turn stabilized miner income, contrary to the general belief that it might lead to a decline. According to Anand Gomes, the co-founder of Paradigm, Ethereum London hard fork upgrade led to a surge in ETH price, along with influencing institutional investors onto the Ethereum blockchain. While miners were strongly against the upgrade, the stabilization in mining fees seems to have also helped stabilized their income.　　Source: Coin Metrics　　The burning of additional miners fees did make ETH a deflationary token which has helped it surge post the upgrade. A total of 32123.8 ETH has been burnt until now.　　Source: TradingView　　Priority fee on NFT add to miners income　　Miners are also enjoying priority fee rewards on NFT transactions. 75 percent increase in 7 days period of on-chain transactions transferring NFTs, has given rise to

2021-08-13Deep Dive

‘Crypto Heist’ Di Poly, RM2.5 Bilion Lesap Sekelip Mata!

Poly Network menjadi tumpuan media massa apabila dilaporkan telah menjadi mangsa penggodaman, menyebabkan kehilangan dana bernilai RM2.5 bilion ($600 juta) dalam sekelip mata.　　Poly Network merupakan sebuah protokol yang beroperasi di blockchain Binance Smart Chain (BSC), Ethereum (ETH), dan Polygon (MATIC).　　Beberapa dana daripada ketiga-tiga blockchain tersebut telah dipindahkan ke alamat wallet milik penggodam:　　2,858 ETH ($266.5 juta) dipindahkan ke alamat Ethereum　　6,610 token BNB bernilai lebih $252 juta dipindahkan ke wallet BSC　　Sejumlah token MATIC bernilai $85 juta dipindahkan ke alamat Polygon　　Turut melibatkan beberapa jumlah besar token WBTC, WETH, RenBTC, DAI, UNI, SHIB, dan FEI　　Berdasarkan nilai semasa keseluruhan aset yang berjaya dirampas mencecah nilai lebih RM2.5 bilion ketika artikel ini ditulis.　　Tether (USDT) turut menjadi sasaran dalam serangan tersebut. Sejumlah USDT bernilai $33 juta berjaya dicuri, namun pihak Tether bertindak pantas dengan membeku aset tersebut menyebabkan penggodam gagal menggunakan dana tersebut.　　Pada masa yang sama, beberapa bursa besar kripto telah menawarkan bantuan dan sokongan: Binance, Huobi, dan OKEx.　　Serangan godam terhadap Poly Network menjadikan insiden ini sebagai kes penggodaman terbesar dalam sejarah kripto. Malah, ini bukanlah kali pertama sektor DeFi menjadi sasaran penggodam.　　Bermula dengan serangan terhadap Yearn Finance pada 4 Februari (melibatkan $11 juta), disusuli dengan BT Finance ($1.5 juta pada 9 Feb), Alpha Homora ($37.5 juta

2021-08-13Deep Dive

Binance Umum Tamatkan Perkhidmatan Derivatif, Negara Asia Ini Jadi Sasaran!

Dalam pengumuman terbaru, Binance mendedahkan bahawa pihak mereka akan mengenakan larangan dan sekatan terhadap pengguna dari Hong Kong dari membuka akaun produk derivatif yang baru.　　Larangan ini akan berkuat kuasa bermula dari tarikh yang akan diumumkan kelak dari pihak Binance. Dengan ini, pengguna Hong Kong hanya mempunyai 90 hari untuk melakukan dagangan, selepas daripada waktu itu semuanya akan dihentikan serta merta. Dalam tempoh tersebut, pembukaan akaun baru juga adalah tidak dibenarkan.　　Dalam salah satu kenyataan, Binance mengatakan, “sebagai peneraju pasaran, Binance sentiasa menilai penawaran produk dan perkhidmatannya. Justeru, pihak Binance telah sebulat suara untuk mengambil keputusan menghadkan pengguna Hong Kong daripada terlibat dalam pembelian derivatif (termasuk semua niaga hadapan, opsyen, produk margin, dan leverage). Ini adalah sebahagian daripada komitmen Binance untuk memenuhi peraturan yang ditetapkan kerajaan”.　　Pertukaran tersebut menjelaskan bahawa ia akan mengambil sikap secara proaktif dan bukannya secara reaktif untuk mematuhi peraturan di seluruh dunia. Pengumuman ini hadir selepas Binance menghentikan perkhidmatan derivatif untuk pengguna di Itali, Jerman, dan Belanda.

2021-08-13Deep Dive

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