Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Asian Countries Top the Chart in Crypto Adoption: Finder’s Report

A new survey of 42,000 people across 27 countries have revealed that the top 5 nations leading cryptocurrency adoption amongst its populace are all in China.　　Key Data from the Finders Survey　　According to the results from the research, Vietnam ranks highest amongst all nations as 41% of all surveyed citizens said they own Bitcoin (BTC) or a form of cryptocurrency.　　Indonesia and India shared the second and third place respectively with 30% of respondents from both region affirming owning crypto. While Malaysia and the Philippines completed the top 5, the United States and the United Kingdom both recorded 9% and 8% respectively and occupied the last two positions.　　Cryptocurrency Adoption Chart. Source: Finder　　Of the countries surveyed, Australia and New Zealand both recorded 13% adoption, Brazil led South American countries with a 22% adoption rate while South Africa, the only African nation surveyed was unveiled to have a 15% adoption rate. The Finder survey also showed that Bitcoin is the most popular digital currency amongst the respondents and the likelihood of male dominance in these new tech adoption is very high.　　“Its said that the gender pay gap sees women earn $0.82 on the dollar of their male counterparts and a similar chasm appears in

2021-08-16Deep Dive

A Profile Of Post May 2021 Crypto Investors

Due to high customer demand, apps such as eToro, Robin Hood and Revolut added Dogecoin.　　Novice traders sought tokens with a high ROI while accepting risks such as rug pulls　　Quickswap and Pancakeswap projects were favored to the detriment of Uniswap due to high transaction fees.　　Dinocoins shone but were not as bright as meme coins.　　Every crypto epoch is defined by a bull run that concludes with a “healthy” correction. In May 2021, a mild correction occurred, which saw most retail traders flee the crypto scene. Thus, traders in post-May 2021 are dissimilar to what the DeFi and NFT boom brought to the table.　　Meme Season Primed Among Investors　　With each occurring Bullrun, new investors flock to the market. IncomeSharks tweeted that inexperienced traders bring high levels of volatility because “they panic sell support,” suggesting they invest due to preconceived ideas of a get-rich-quick scheme.　　On trading volume platforms such as Binance Smart Chain, PancakeSwap outperformed Ethereum by 600%. Traders have been drawn by the low network fees and promise of a high yielding return. Moreover, Vice reports projects on BSC, are “simpler” to create; however, in contrast to established projects, they are fueled by empty marketing promises.　　Traders have taken Doge as a pillar of crypto

2021-08-16Deep Dive

Crypto-Friendly Bank Backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Plans $2 Billion IPO on Nasdaq

Nubank, a Brazilian digital bank backed by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway, is reportedly planning an initial public offering (IPO) on Nasdaq. Nubank is crypto-friendly and offers investments in a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The bank said, “The cryptocurrency ETF can be a way to further democratize access to the crypto market.”　　Digital Bank Backed by Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Reportedly Plans to IPO on Nasdaq　　Nu Pagamentos SA, also known as Nubank, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) of more than $2 billion on the Nasdaq stock exchange for the end of this year, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.　　Nubank is backed by billionaire Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway Inc. In June, Berkshire invested $500 million in the Sao Paulo-based digital bank which has more than 40 million clients throughout Latin America.　　According to the people, Nubank may seek a valuation of more than $40 billion. However, details may change as discussions are still ongoing. The bank was valued at $10.4 billion after a private fundraising in early 2019 but its valuation soared to $30 billion by June after the $500 million investment by Berkshire.　　At a valuation of more than $40 billion, Nubank could become the second most valuable financial

2021-08-16Deep Dive

Colombian President’s Advisor: Bitcoin Is the Most Brilliant Piece of Software

Ever since El Salvador made history by announcing intentions to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender, the situation in this regard within the Central and South American region has changed.　　Other nations, such as Paraguay and Argentina, have dabbled with the idea, but to no actual progress so far.　　Another country from the Latam region whose citizens have been openly interested in BTC is Colombia. CryptoPotato recently had the chance to chat with the Advisor to the nations president – Jehudi Castro Sierra.　　As previously reported, Castro Sierra made a name for himself in the crypto community after lashing out against the popular Bitcoin hater – Peter Schiff.　　Most Brilliant Piece of Software　　During the interview, Castro Sierra explained that he is not a politician but a geek who approaches the primary cryptocurrency from that angle.　　His career path has a deep connection to the software industry, which has introduced him to Bitcoin years ago. In fact, he referred to the cryptocurrency as the “most brilliant piece of software ever.”　　To prove his point, Castro Sierra touched upon the recent mining adjustment processes. After China went against BTC miners and ordered them to shut down, the hash rate plummeted by more than 50% in a month. The

2021-08-16Deep Dive

Retest of previous support expected in coming week

Breaking: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and BNB gets rejected at Resistance: A retest of previous support expected in the coming week and a Breakout in the second attempt.　　The Crypto market has witnessed a continuous green days for consecutive 3weeks especially, since the beginning of August. The present Month has given hope once more, to investors in the Crypto market that the Bull market is not yet over.　　Bitcoin Breakout: Failed First attempt and currently retesting the previous Supports.　　This weekend seems to have been the apex of the resumption of the Bull-run as Bitcoin had made the first attempt at Breaking its strongest resistance at $48,000 with a big Bullish candle pattern, which would have flashed the Bullish continuation flag and pave way for the creation of a New All time highs (ATH) taking Bitcoin to 50k and above immediately.　　However, Bitcoin got a sharp rejection from the $48,000 resistance. This 48k region has remained a very Critical price for Bitcoin to break as this has been the previous support for Bitcoin since February this year before the sudden bear season that came into the market. Of course this is the first time Bitcoin is retesting this region after it got broken in April

2021-08-16Deep Dive

Singapore Crypto Owners Are More Likely to Hold Ether Than Bitcoin

Ether is the most popular cryptocurrency in Singapore, a survey published Monday found.　　Almost four-fifths of crypto investors, 78%, hold ether compared with 69% who own bitcoin, according to a survey by crypto exchange Gemini, finance platform Seedly, and information provider CoinMarketCap. Cardano came third at 40%.　　The survey of over 4,000 adults conducted June 29-July 9 also found that 67% of respondents with personal investments have crypto in their portfolio, and two-thirds of the crypto holders increased their digital-asset holdings during the pandemic.　　Of those who havent invested in crypto, more than two-thirds cited lack of knowledge. Perceived market volatility also played a part in the decision.　　Still, 34% of respondents who dont own crypto said they plan to enter the market within the next 12 months　　The most interesting aspect of crypto to all responders was decentralized finance, followed by crypto as an inflation hedge and non-fungible tokens.　　Around 80% of crypto owners in Singapore are men and under 34, the survey found.　　Women who own crypto have a higher median income than their male counterparts.　　While 64% of all crypto holders have more than 5% of their portfolio in digital assets, a full fifth of those aged 18-24 said more than half of their investments

2021-08-16Deep Dive

Bank of Korea to Pilot CBDC on Samsung Galaxy Phones

In brief　　The Bank of Korea is piloting a new CBDC on Galaxy smartphones.　　It is looking to test whether its possible to make offline crypto payments between users.　　Samsung has been integrating blockchain-friendly features into its phones for the last two years.　　Koreas central bank is piloting a digital currency through the Galaxy smartphones of South Korean multinational tech giant Samsung Electronics, according to a report by The Korea Times on August 8.　　The Bank of Korea announced it would hold a bid to select its technology supplier for the CBDC back in May. After facing stiff competition, the contract was given to Ground X, whose Klaytn platform will host the CBDC. Ground X is a blockchain subsidiary of Korean communications giant Kakao.　　CBDCs are central bank-backed digital currencies. The aim of a CBDC is to provide a digital alternative to a country‘s traditional fiat currency. Some are based on blockchains, many are simply “inspired” by them. Most countries are researching CBDCs right now, most notably South Korea’s rival China, which has been piloting its digital yuan since last April.　　The Bank of Koreas pilot, which launched on June 28 this year, is looking specifically to test the practicalities of digital payments using Galaxy phones.　　The

2021-08-16Deep Dive

CyberKongz' mass monkey minting burns $4M in Ether in 5 hours

The latest craze in animal themed nonfungible tokens has been such a big hit that it has become the top burner of Ethereum transaction fees over the past 24 hours.　　CyberKongz, which started as a collection of 1,000 unique NFTs in early March 2021, has surged in popularity recently. So much so that it has today usurped NFT marketplace OpenSea and the worlds most popular decentralized exchange, Uniswap, in terms of Ethereum fee burning.　　The achievement was noted by the Chinese blockchain outlet Wu Blockchain which reported that it had burned 1,240 in ETH, or around $4 million in just 5 hours.　　The mass monkey minting has caused gas prices to skyrocket with average transactions reaching their highest level since late May at around $25. Etherscans gas tracker is reporting higher prices of over $40 for more complex operations such as smart contract interactions.　　At the time of writing, the ETH fee burning tracker ultrasound.money was reporting that CyberKongz VX had been responsible for the burning of 1,430 ETH, or $4.7 million, over the past 24 hours. It was still ahead of both OpenSea and Uniswap — in fact it burnt more than both of them combined.　　According to OpenSea, there are now 3,000 NFTs

2021-08-16Deep Dive

3 reasons why Gitcoin (GTC) price has rallied 100% in a month

As the blockchain industry expands and becomes more of a fixture in everyday life, the idea of one chain to rule them all and the general ideology of blockchain maximalism is beginning to fall to the wayside and the focus on interoperability and cross-chain collaboration is coming to the forefront.　　One project that is specifically designed to help advance the ecosystem as a whole and develop the future of the open internet is Gitcoin (GTC), a community of builders, creators and protocols.　　Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of GTC has swelled 103% from a low of $4.78 on July 20 to a high at $9.71 on Aug. 11 as new participants aligned with the project and its goal of advancing the Web3 infrastructure.　　Three reasons behind the recent strength of GTC are its expanding list of partner platforms, DAO governance features that give community members control of the platform and a well-funded grant pool that can be used to help develop projects and improve protocols.The list of partner protocols expands　　The main mission of the Gitcoin protocol is to help create and support the infrastructure for Web3. This includes developing new tools, technologies and networks that can further

2021-08-16Deep Dive

Walmart is looking for a crypto product lead

Walmart—Americas most ubiquitous retailer—is on the hunt for a cryptocurrency product lead, according to a job ad posted to LinkedIn five hours ago.　　The ad said the firm is “seeking a visionary leader” to fill the so-called digital currency and cryptocurrency product lead position. The person would create a digital currency strategy for the big box store.　　“You will be responsible for developing the Digital Currency strategy and product roadmap,” the ad said. “As an expert in Digital Currencies/ Cryptocurrency and Blockchain related technologies, you will drive the vision for the product and capabilities roadmap.”　　The person would also “ identify crypto related investment and partnerships,” the ad said.　　Its not clear from the ad what products the person would launch. The job ad was released weeks after rumors swirled that Walmart rival Amazon was poised to make a big entrance into the crypto market. Amazon has its own job ad for a digital currency and blockchain product lead.　　Still, Amazon denied reports that it would accept bitcoin as a form of payment.

2021-08-16Deep Dive