Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

GERMAN LAW NOW ALLOWS INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS TO HOLD CRYPTO

GERMAN LAW NOW ALLOWS INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS TO HOLD CRYPTO　　Images from Unsplash　　A total of $415 billion worth of investments could flow into the crypto market as new laws governing German Spezialfonds go into effect.　　The law will come to an effect on August 2, 2021, and will allow German institutional funds to hold up to 20% of their assets in cryptocurrencies, which will set the stage for wider mainstream acceptance of Bitcoin and other crypto-assets by the nations pension funds.　　As Bloomberg reports, the new law alters fixed investment rules governing Spezialfonds, also known as special funds, which are only accessible to institutional investors such as pension funds and insurers. Spezialfonds currently manages about $2.1 trillion (1.8 trillion euros) worth of assets.　　Tim Kreutzmann, who works for German investment fund association BVI, told Bloomberg that most funds will likely stay well below the 20% mark initially, explaining:　　“On the one hand, institutional investors such as insurers have strict regulatory requirements for their investment strategies. And on the other hand, they must also want to invest in crypto.”　　The new rule, which was passed in early July, represents an important evolution in how German lawmakers govern digital assets. Germanys Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, better known as BaFin,

2021-08-02Deep Dive

State Street Bank offer cryptocurrency services to its private-fund clients

State Street Bank offer cryptocurrency services to its private-fund clients　　ABSTRACT:　　State Street - the second oldest asset management financial Corporation in the US, with over $42.4 Trillion Asset under its custody has commenced Offering Crypto Services to its Private Clients.　　According to the recent development in the Crypto industry, the second oldest asset management Corporation in the United States with over $42.4 Trillion Asset under its custody has commenced Offering Crypto Services to its Private Clients owing to the increasing demands from its clients.　　State Street has seen a significant increase in its digital asset offerings in the past few months and with the recent moves by JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon, beginning to offer its clients exposure to the new asset class, the corporation therefore considers it worthwhile to provide as well, such digital assets services for Its private investors. Earlier in the month of June this year, State Street built a new division dedicated to cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies, blockchain and securities tokenization called State Street Digital.　　To further discharge this digital assets provision for its private clients; State street is currently into a partnership deal with a New York-based cryptocurrency data and software service firm

2021-08-02Deep Dive

Responses to Shutdown of Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Influenced by regulations of some countries, numerous people are worried about unavailable transactions caused by the shutdown of cryptocurrency exchanges recently. How to cope with the shutdown？ Several solutions are introduced herein.　　1. Transfer withdrawals to decentralized crypto wallets.　　A decentralized wallet is system software where the private keys are stored to enable users to access their records and cryptocurrencies on a digital ledger, which is based on blockchain technology that reduces the risk of hacker attacks. Only users can hold their mnemonic passphrases so that they can manage their digital assets on blockchains.　　2. Choose exchanges in other countries.　　Users can directly choose exchanges of other countries if they fear the shutdown of those in their motherlands as exchanges in many nations are allowed to legally operate businesses.　　3. Use decentralized exchanges (DEX).　　As for trading through decentralized exchanges, direct peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transactions are allowed without the need for an intermediary, and the capital is stored in users digital wallets or smart contracts. Exchanges execute smart contracts for completing transactions when users start trading. Everything during transactions is transparent as the transfer of assets is operated on a blockchain or distributed ledger where trading records can be accessed.　　4. Leave cryptocurrency trading.　　If you are skeptical about

2021-08-02Deep Dive

What Are The Odds Of ETH Not Following BTC Anymore?

Bitcoin often directs tokens price action as traders regard it as a reserve cryptocurrency in the market.　　Ethereums deflationary functionality will make ETH tokens more scarce after implementing the EIP-1559 update.　　The move to Proof-of-Stake means Ethereums tokenomics will not bear similarities to the current consensus model.　　Retail and institutional investors recognize Bitcoin‘s coin supremacy reign as it’s become the preferred token denominator. While Bitcoin is lauded as digital gold, Ethereum is gaining a reputation for being utilized on a larger scale, aside from speculation. Bitcoins market price shifts are directly influencing altcoins, although much of the trading now occurs through stablecoin denominators.　　Ethereum Is Breaking The Chains　　The Bitcoin-Ethereum correlation is not a performance indicator but a staple of the networks importance. Diversifying investment portfolios is dull as price discrepancies rarely occur between Bitcoin and other altcoins, including Ethereum.　　Investor and founder of Three Arrows Capital, Su Zhu, researched and reported on Ethereums correlation metric. Specifically, he highlighted Bitcoin-Ethereum correlations are being eliminated, claiming alt-season will slowly dissipate as the market matures. Furthermore, detachment from the Bitcoin standard could occur only when Ethereum adds a similar scarce value to the network economy.　　Su Zhu highlighted that Ethereum‘s high correlation to Bitcoin occurs when Etheruem’s team fails

2021-08-02Deep Dive

Axie Infinity (AXS), Permainan Maya Yang Tawarkan Kripto Sebagai Ganjaran!

Axie Infinity merupakan permainan kripto yang menawarkan penggunanya untuk berinteraksi di ekosistem maya, Axie Infinity melalui karakter yang dikenali sebagai Axie dan menjana dua jenis token, AXS, dan Small Love Potion (SLP) sebagai ganjaran.　　Permainan ini boleh dikatakan menyerupai permainan maya seperti Digimon, Pokemon, dan The Sims. Cuma, ketiga-tiganya hanya terhad kepada pengumpulan skills atau wang maya (bits, poke, simoleon) yang hanya boleh digunakan di dalam permainan itu sahaja. Tetapi melalui Axie, anda boleh menjana kripto. Secara mudahnya, Axie ialah sejenis permainan play-to-earn　　Terdapat tiga token yang anda perlu ketahui selain AXS dan SLP.　　AXS: Merupakan governance token. Kebiasaannya ia digunakan untuk membuat pengundian atau keputusan arah tuju platform Axie Infinity. Ia dijana berdasarkan progress anda di dalam permainan.　　SLP: Token yang berasaskan Ethereum (ERC-20), turut digunakan di Axie Infinity terutama untuk membiakkan Axies termasuk level-up karakter. SLP juga boleh dijual beli.　　Non-fungible token (NFT): Semua Axies, tanah atau apa-apa yang bernilai di Axie Infinity seperti tanaman atau perhiasan boleh dibeli dan dijual sebagai NFT.　　Jika berminat untuk mula bermain Axie Infinity, anda sekurang-kurangnya perlu ada 3 Axies. Setiap satu axie yang sudah dewasa didagangkan pada tanda harga bermula 0.1 ETH (~RM791) dan boleh pergi setinggi 0.2 ETH (~RM1582). Selain itu, sudah semestinya ada perlu ada

2021-08-02Deep Dive

Bitcoin Kicks Off August On A Strong Foot, But Can The Bulls Reclaim $60k This Month?

The year has been Bitcoin‘s best since November of 2020 when the bulls showed that they had arrived. The early part of this year saw analysts, investors, and traders extremely confident in the bulls’ abilities to sustain newly attained price levels, and it was so for the first quarter of the year until it wasnt.　　The bear market that slashed Bitcoins price still has its markings on the altcoin market, and even till now, Bitcoin is yet to take the leap that analysts hope will take the most valuable asset to $100,000 for the first time since its creation.　　Why August is a significant month for Bitcoin this year　　However, August seems to be coming with a different wave; a bullish one to be precise. Citing that this could be the month Bitcoin finally “raises the second leg and continue the bull run.”　　From the technical charts, Bitcoin has garnered nearly 24% in daily profit, after successfully holding up the $41,000 price levels.　　Expectedly, the fear and greed signal has for the first time in a long time turned bullish; meaning that the outlook for the Bitcoin market is largely in affirmation of a continuous upward movement. But what are the factors that are truly

2021-08-02Deep Dive

Big Venture Capitalists and Pension Funds Are Pouring Billions Of Dollars In Crypto Firms

In the first quarter of 2021, a glut of upper-class institutions, including Tesla and MicroStrategy, spent large sums of money to acquire Bitcoin. It appears the hype has cooled off since. However, the interest in crypto and blockchain-based firms have received a boom instead.　　BTCUSD Chart By TradingView　　The second quarter of 2021 saw an extensive amount of capital being injected into blockchain and crypto-focused companies through venture capital funds. To put this into perspective, VCs have poured a staggering $17 billion into crypto-centered companies so far this year. That is more than all the capital poured into the crypto space in 2020, by a large margin.　　Bearing the high-risk, speculative nature of the crypto industry in mind, it would be reasonable to see a small number of venture capitalists interested in the field. However, the crypto lead at PwC says an increasing number of large VCs and pension funds are actually interested in investing in the space.　　 Large VCs Compete Over Crypto Firms　　In an interview with Bloomberg, Henri Arslanian, PwCs crypto lead, asserted that there is even a little bit of competition among VCs when it comes to investing in crypto initiatives. Arslanian said smaller players are not happy as they are

2021-08-02Deep Dive

CBI Governor: Negatives Surrounding Crypto Far Outweigh Any Benefits

Gabriel Makhlouf – the Central Bank of Ireland Governor – believes cryptocurrencies could negatively impact the European financial stability. He also stated that the Eurozone is very close to launching its own CBDC, indicating that “its not a question of if but rather how and when.”　　Are Digital Assets a Threat to The EU？　　In a recent blog post, CBI‘s Governor Gabriel Makhlouf spoke rather contradictory about virtual currencies and their function. The top banker warned that they could pose risks to financial stability. What’s more, digital assets lack transparency, have a high level of energy consumption, and criminals can employ them in illegal operations:　　“As things stand today, the negatives surrounding crypto far outweigh any benefits.”　　On the other hand, Makhlouf praised the technology behind Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other virtual currencies. He reminded that they have the potential to reduce transmission costs in the monetary system and eliminate the need for intermediaries in some transactions:　　“But we shouldnt ignore the positive elements of the underlying technology. Distributed ledger technology (DLT) is essentially a secure, decentralized record of information stored across a network and is a key piece of architecture for some types of crypto.”　　It is worth noting that Gabriel Makhlouf is not the only

2021-08-02Deep Dive

PayPal Starts Significant Crypto Push in Ireland

Global payments behemoth PayPal is on a cryptocurrency hiring spree in Ireland, The Irish Independent reports.　　The San Jose-headquartered company has opened several crypto-related job vacancies for its business unit that is centered around digital assets.　　In April, PayPal moved to relocate 131 Irish-based employees to other countries, but it also stressed that it was committed to the Republic.　　PayPal opened up its network to digital assets to much fanfare back in October 2020, helping to push the price of Bitcoin sharply higher. This was followed by a gradual rollout of cryptocurrency trading in the U.S. and the introduction of its crypto checkout feature in March.　　During PayPals Q2 earnings call that took place earlier this week, CEO Dan Schulman revealed that the company would make its cryptocurrency services available in the U.K. this August.　　PayPal is also working on the much-anticipated withdrawal feature. Just like Robinhood, it only offers I-owe-you (IOU) notes tied to cryptocurrencies, which is something that many members of the Bitcoin community take issue with.　　Europes cryptocurrency hub　　PayPal is far from being the only company that is seeking cryptocurrency and blockchain talent in Ireland.　　San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced its plan to establish a presence in Dublin last month.　　As reported by U.Today,

2021-08-02Deep Dive

Bank of America Outlines Key Benefits of Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador

In a surprising show of support, Bank of America, one of the largest banking institutions in the U.S., recognized some key opportunities that Bitcoin can offer to El Salvador.　　The bank claims that the introduction of the world‘s largest cryptocurrency could potentially lower the cost of remittances, which represent nearly a quarter of the tropical country’s gross domestic product. In turn, this could substantially increase the disposable income of Salvadorans.　　Banking the unbanked is seen as yet another advantage of Bitcoin adoption. Roughly 70 percent of citizens in El Salvador do not have access to a bank account.　　Finally, El Salvador could attract foreign direct investment (FDI) flows by becoming a major Bitcoin mining hub of the likes of Iceland.　　In March, Bank of America published a scathing report about cryptocurrencies, which states that Bitcoins only viable use case is price speculation.　　El Salvadors controversial Bitcoin experiment　　After ditching its own currency two decades ago, President Nayib Bukele decided to turn his country into a cryptocurrency utopia.　　His Bitcoin law will come into effect in September after El Salvadors legislature voted to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in late June.　　While Bukele instantly became a superstar within the cryptocurrency community, his cryptocurrency push also attracted plenty of criticism

2021-08-02Deep Dive