Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Fed Chair says stablecoins need stricter regulation, speaks on CBDC

He stated that stablecoins need stricter regulations if they are to be part of the payment universe.　　Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told the House of Representatives today that stablecoins should face stricter regulations similar to money market funds or bank deposits.　　Powell was asked specifically about Tether, currently the most valuable stablecoin, by Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH). Tether claimed each coin was backed by a dollar, but that has been proven false; rather it is backed mostly by commercial paper or debts. Powell said most of the time those assets are very liquid, but during the recent financial crisis that wasnt the case. He explained:　　“The market just disappears. And that‘s when people will want their money. It’s very simple: these are economic activities very similar to bank deposits and money market funds, and they need to be regulated in comparable ways,”　　Powell went on to say that if Stablecoins are going to be a part of the payment universe, then regulations need to be put in place, as a regulatory framework currently “doesnt exist, really, for stablecoins.”　　He also added that he doesnt see volatile crypto assets as being a part of the payment universe in the future. Crypto assets were mentioned in the

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Six Most Crypto-Friendly Countries Worldwide!

Many investors are worried and upset as lots of countries have tightened their regulation on cryptocurrencies worldwide recently. However, it should be clear that not all nations tell the same story. Some crypto-friendly countries are listed herein:　　1. Japan　　As the first country in the world to approve Bitcoin as a legal currency and issue permits in this field, Japan has seen many enterprises nationwide starting to accept digital assets in their daily operation.　　2. The United States　　The U.S. bears witness to plenty of trading platforms and Bitcoin ATMs, boasting the largest number of traders in Bitcoin trading worldwide.　　3. Canada　　Canada has an extremely friendly attitude to Bitcoin and stipulated the law to regulate cryptocurrencies.　　4. Singapore　　Singapore allows some cryptocurrency companies to operate businesses without licenses within the six-month grace period. The system for capital gains tax (CGT) hasnt been established in the country.　　5. Georgia　　Georgia doesnt set any legal limits on cryptocurrency exchanges, nor does it ban unlicensed operations in the industry. At the same time, the country provides related firms with favorable tax systems.　　6. Denmark　　It is relatively easy to trade Bitcoin in Denmark as the country supports digital currencies to some extent and embraces a lot of exchanges.　　As a reminder, WikiBit is ready to

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Why Ex-Bitcoin Admirer Nassim Taleb Now Reckons BTC Has Catastrophically Failed And Has Zero Value

Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of a series of best-selling financial books such as The Black Swan and Skin in the Game, and a one-time bitcoin fan, has recently explained why he no longer believes in bitcoin.　　Bitcoin Has Completely Failed: Taleb　　After ditching his previous pro-bitcoin stance, Taleb now believes the worlds largest cryptocurrency is worth nothing since its credentials as a “currency without government”, a safe haven, and a reliable inflation hedge have totally failed.　　In his recently published article, the distinguished professor of risk engineering at New York Universitys Tandon School of Engineering said only a few assets in financial history have been more fragile than bitcoin, according to a CNBC report.　　BTCUSD Chart By TradingView　　In late June, Taleb put out a piece entitled “Bitcoin, Currencies, and Fragility” where he asserted that bitcoin‘s real value is “exactly zero” mainly because the crypto asset requires a massive amount of interest to maintain its worth. Gold and other precious metals, on the contrary, do not require that. Taleb also questioned bitcoin’s worth given its high volatility throughout its lifetime.　　He started tweeting about how bitcoin had “failed” earlier this year and revealed that he was dumping his BTC stash.　　Taleb Was Once A Bitcoin Fan　　Taleb

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Ranking Crypto Yang Paling Banyak di "Stake"

Cardano berjaya dengan baik semasa kemerosotan pada bulan April, ketika pasaran kripto mendekati puncak tempatan. Pada masa itu, Cardano juga menduduki tempat teratas dalam rantai saham, dengan nilai taruhan $ 29.85 bilion. Ini diikuti oleh Polkadot dengan harga $25.43 bilion. Manakala Ethereum berada di urutan bawah di kedudukan kelima pada $8.61 bilion.　　Tetapi sekarang, menurut Staking Rewards, Polkadot dan Ethereum telah bertukar nasib. Polkadot telah menyaksikan penurunan 60% antara sekarang dan pertengahan April, yang menyebabkan penurunan kedudukannya sebagai coin kedua yang paling banyak dipertaruhkan.　　Analisis harga, atau ketahanan harga yang lebih tepat untuk penurunan, dapat menjelaskan pergeseran peringkat ini. Nilai bertaruh dikira dengan harga token dikalikan dengan bilangan token yang dipertaruhkan.　　Ethereum adalah satu yang perlu diperhatikan　　Mempertaruhkan Ethereum menyajikan sejumlah isu. Pertama, di bawah kriteria semasa, terdapat syarat minimum 32ETH, yang pada harga semasa tidak termasuk kebanyakan pengguna.　　Kemudian ada masalah deposit terkunci untuk jangka masa yang tidak terhad. Developers Consensys mengatakan pengguna boleh menarik balik ETH mereka setelah Fasa 2 ETH 2.0 disiarkan secara langsung.　　Sejak staking tersedia di Ethereum, kumpulan stok dan pertukaran mula menawarkan perkhidmatan taruhan yang melewati keberatan di atas. Sebagai contoh, pada Binance, pengguna dapat mempertaruhkan minimum 0.1ETH, dan mereka juga menawarkan token derivatif, BETH, yang memungkinkan tahap fleksibiliti keluar.　　Ancaman

2021-07-15Deep Dive

740 Bitcoin (BTC) transferred from dormant address after 9 years

Crypto trackers and alarmers Whale Alert noticed an old-school holder move 740 Bitcoin (BTC) two days ago after the coins sat dormant for over nine years.　　According to a cryptocurrency blockchain explorer service Blockchain.com, the whales address transacted 38 times, receiving a total of 793.64 Bitcoin and its current, post-dump value with roughly 52 Bitcoin remaining is worth about $1,66 million.　　 Millions through the siphon　　The address was first activated in the spring of 2012 and since then stocked only smaller increments of Bitcoin (BTC), incomparable to the large deposit of 740 coins from 12 addresses, which beefed up the wallet on May 31 that year.　　At that time, the transaction was roughly worth $3,850, whereas its current value exceeds $23.6 million ($24,339 at the time of sale).　　100 Bitcoin was sent to one address and roughly 640 went to another address, but where did they end up？　　Both new, receiving addresses were emptied out shortly after.　　So, the address which received the bigger amount sent 440 Bitcoin to an address that is still holding that sum and the remaining 200 to the same address that the whale sent the initial 100 coins.　　The completely new address, currently worth $14 million, is still holding more than half

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Rising U.S. Inflation Puts Additional Pressure On Crypto Market

The overall cryptocurrency market continues to trade under pressure with Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) dropping below their crucial support levels. The crypto market came under pressure on Tuesday, July 13, as the U.S. Labor Department released the inflation data for June 2021.　　The Consumer Price Index (CPI) surged 5.4% in comparison to the last year triggering a 13-year high in the month of June. The inflation spike comes as governments ease lockdown and consumer spending shoots. Also, sectors that were down during the pandemic have resumed operations.　　Following the release of the inflation data, Wall Street came under pressure. The hot inflation data also overshadowed the strong earnings season for the second quarter. Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Ava Trade told Yahoo Finance that bears took control over Wall Street as the inflation numbers were higher than expected. Thus, it also had a ripple effect on Bitcoin and the overall crypto space.　　In the past, the crypto market has behaved relatively similar to the movements in the traditional stock market. Over the last month, the crypto market has been under pressure due to the rising regulatory pressure worldwide.　　 Institutional Investors Grab the Opportunity　　The market analyst from Ava Trade also added that

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Global payments brand Skrill expands crypto wallet services

Skrill customers outside the United States now have access to 35 cryptocurrencies in their digital wallets. The company expanded into the U.S. in March of this year.　　Paysafe, the parent company of online money transfer service Skrill, announced this week that the payment platform has integrated an additional 20 cryptocurrencies into its digital wallet, providing users with another legacy onramp to digital assets.　　Beginning this week, customers outside the United States will have access to 35 cryptocurrencies in total, the company said. Crypto buy and sell services are also available in 48 U.S. states and territories.　　The newly supported cryptocurrencies include major DeFi assets like Aave, Balancer, Curve, Compound, Synthetix, Uniswap and Sushiswap. Polygon and Dogecoin (DOGE) were also added.　　Users of NETELLER, another money transfer service within the Paysafe group, will also have access to the expanded crypto wallet.　　“After a surge in overall activity in the industry were seeing more interest in cryptocurrency than ever from our digital wallet customers, both current and new,” said Rupinder Singh, a senior vice president with Paysafe. “Our aim is to make it ever easier for consumers to get started in crypto using Skrill or NETELLER.”　　Skrill was identified by Cointelegraph in early 2020 as a potential driver

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Watch Skins – Wearable NFTs and the “Phygital” Revolution

People have a strong affinity for collectibles because they give them a sense of identity, personality, independence, and luxury. Thanks to technology, the world is witnessing a new form of showpieces known as digital collectibles. These products exist in cyberspace, and many individuals embrace them because of their beauty, utility, and many other values. A significant challenge that these collectors have encountered is how to show their collections to the world, but Watch Skins is changing all of that.　　The Watch Skins NFT marketplace brings digital collectibles to the face of a smartwatch, connecting the real world to the virtual world. This unique feature puts Watch Skins into an emerging class of phygital‘’ products which combine the physical and the digital, offering an experience of deeper immersion and interaction.　　Watch Skins are phygital goods, which differentiates them from traditional collectibles. By utilizing blockchain technology, Watch Skins has created the worlds first wearable NFT. When a collectible watch face is created, Watch Skins mints an ERC721 Non-Fungible Token. That token provides a validation mechanism for the face that ensures the unique design is authenticated on the blockchain, which helps brands to fight against counterfeit goods.　　The Watch Skins Marketplace　　The Watch Skins marketplace allows users

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Australia’s CryptoSpend is Launching Visa Debit Cards

Visa has approved the issuance of a physical debit card that allows users of the CryptoSpend app to spend bitcoin trading profits.　　It will be the first time cryptocurrencies can be spent using a payments card issued in Australia that runs on the network of one of the international card schemes, by tapping on existing payment terminals. The move also highlights efforts by Visa to facilitate using digital currencies for purchasing consumer goods.　　CryptoSpend taps into Australian crypto market　　Launched last October, CryptoSpend is already linked into the “new payments platform” (NPP), backed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). This allows users to move crypto balances into Australian bank accounts instantly. Customers can actually already pay bills using crypto balances through the app.　　Although its user base was only increasing by 100 a month, CryptoSpend expects a jump when the Visa card hits the market. CryptoSpend co-founder Richard Voice anticipated the service pushing into the mass market. “You will find some people hold until bitcoin hits X price, but you will find other people that say ‘I have made $400 today, I am going to use my CryptoSpend card at the pub tonight’.”　　 Visa crypto cards ready to launch　　Visa put CryptoSpend through a

2021-07-15Deep Dive

Blockchain Could Address Inequity In the Art World

It is 2021, a time of tremendous technological breakthroughs, and yet many people still face age-old inequalities related to their gender, race, sexual preferences, religious or political beliefs. Even in the art world.　　The decentralized nature of blockchain technology aims to disrupt systems, like the art market. However, these centralized top-down structures make them susceptible to the formation of such biases.　　However, does decentralization truly solve the embedded inequalities within such centralized systems？ The answer to this question is not clear.　　Art platforms based on decentralized technology give artists more equal and direct access to collectors. However, these same artists still need to appeal to the collector base whose tendencies may still mirror the traditional art market, where 98% of the top-grossing contemporary artists are white cisgender men.　　Curated art platforms often perpetuate this trend by making choices that are tailored to those same collector preferences. Decentralized technology, like blockchain, is ultimately a tool that can become a solution to existing problems in the art market or it can perpetuate the same cycle.　　NFTs level the playing field　　Artists with large social media followings can use NFTs to successfully sell their works to their own communities, while the rest find collectors largely through placement on curated

2021-07-15Deep Dive