Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Visa Launches Crypto Rewards Card With BlockFi

Payments giant Visa is launching its first crypto rewards card in partnership with crypto services company BlockFi.　　BlockFi initially announced its plans for a credit card in December 2020. At the time, the exchange released a waiting list for US-based clients, which has now amounted to over 400,000 people. BlockFi CEO Zac Prince said he expects each person on the waitlist to receive their card towards the end of July.　　BlockFi rewards　　BlockFi also stands to benefit from utilizing the card as a customer acquisition tool. This is because the new offering provides clients with a simple way to acquire bitcoin. This means without having to pay fees or navigate the sometimes complicated onboarding processes at exchanges. BlockFi stands to benefit as well from the fees it will receive through money spent on the card.　　BlockFi Visa Rewards Cardholders can earn 1.5% back in bitcoin on every purchase. This payout then increases to 2% on every dollar spent over $50,000 annually. As an incentive to new users, they will receive a 3.5% bitcoin rewards rate for the first 90 days, or until receiving $100 worth of bitcoin. The card also provides other benefits, such as rebates on trading fees. It also comes with no

2021-07-08Deep Dive

Store Or Not Store Of Value? Three Reports Weigh In On Bitcoin

Three recent reports once again showed that the popular narrative surrounding bitcoin (BTC) as digital gold, a safe haven asset, is not so simple and the jury is still out on this question.　　Analysts at Goldman Sachs, Arca, and Bloomberg Intelligence discussed BTC as a store of value, safe haven, or defensive asset from different perspectives. Some argued that bitcoin and gold are not necessarily comparable and that BTC is by no means a defensive asset, while one analyst sees a bull on the horizon for this “upcoming digital reserve asset.”　　Volatility again　　Even if BTC is a competitor to other cryptoassets, its not a direct competitor to gold, and the reason is its often-cited volatility, analysts at US investment banking giant Goldman Sachs argued in a note, as reportedby the Market Insider.　　They added that,　　“Gold is competing with crypto to the same extent it is competing with other risky assets such as equities and cyclical commodities. We view gold as a defensive inflation hedge and crypto as a risk-on inflation hedge.”　　 Bitcoin volatility chart:　　30-day BTC/USD volatility. Source: buybitcoinworldwide.com　　Meanwhile, historically, gold is also not the most stable asset.　　Gold price chart:　　Source: macrotrends.net　　Furthermore, the competition between bitcoin and ethereum (ETH), as well as with other assets,

2021-07-08Deep Dive

50 Shades of Crypto Scams

Digital scammers get more creative as the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies increases around the world.　　The Federal Trade Commission, FCT urges users to be more vigilant as Americans have lost over $80 million since October 2020.　　Advanced fee fraud, Investment scams, and Arbitrage Scams top the list of scams deployed by crypto con artists on users.　　The impact of crypto scams on the market is much worse than we had previously imagined.　　Just like in any other sector, scammers were bound to peddle into cryptocurrencies especially as it fast became a global phenomenon.　　Whether its from a direct hack of a legitimate wallet, or the typical con artist style of swindling the user to send them the cryptocurrencies directly, these con artists have swayed millions of cryptocurrencies users and are constantly devising new methods as users begin to learn their tricks.　　As the ugly trend continues, Central Banks and government departments have advised their citizens on ways to avoid a scammers net. Social media has been a huge factor in these scams and some social media sites now restrict some crypto-related activities.　　50 Shades: It Keeps Evolving　　The Advanced Fee Scam: 　　Just like in any other sector, the Advanced Fee Scam in crypto takes the form of a

2021-07-08Deep Dive

SEC Delays Decision on SkyBridge Capital’s Proposed Bitcoin ETF to August

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended its review of SkyBridge Capitals application for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, a filing by the U.S. regulatory agency shows.　　Anthony Scarammucis SkyBridge Capital submitted an application on May 6 to list and trade shares of the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust.　　The SEC has extended the initial 45-day review period to Aug. 25.　　The agency has received public comment on the application.　　U.S. regulators have been extremely reticent to approve such investment vehicles, which would provide retail investors with access to the bitcoin market without having to own bitcoin itself. ETFs are a staple of many retirement portfolios.

2021-07-08Deep Dive

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao States “Compliance Is A Journey”

There has been a lot of developments in the crypto space since its inception. But it seems that the regulatory authorities are waking up to strengthen the system.　　Amid such concerns, Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao, opines that the crypto industry might grow and develop, but the regulatory framework is not defined.　　According to him, Binance is not anti-regulation. But instead, the exchange is willing and ready to cooperate with the regulators.　　Changpeng Zhao made this statement in a Tuesday open letter where he also mentioned that the industry had grown a lot since the launch of Binance in 2017.　　Therefore, all the regulatory issues surrounding crypto havent deterred the players in the industry from pushing forward with growth and expansion.　　Is Binance Regulatory Compliant？　　There has been a lot of regulatory issues around the four-year-old crypto exchange Binance. Many countries had halted their operations due to non-compliance with financial laws.　　While addressing this situation in the open letter, Zhao mentioned that the team is willing and eager to collaborate with regulatory authorities.　　According to the CEO, Binance aims at becoming a positive contributor, and compliance with laws is the best way to do it.　　But given what is happening in the crypto industry, the Binance CEO also mentioned that

2021-07-08Deep Dive

Kraken Casts More Doubt on JPMorgan Call Over Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ‘Unlocks’

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has joined a growing chorus of analysts suggesting that a wave of new Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) shares hitting secondary markets might be good for Bitcoin prices.　　The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the world‘s largest digital-asset fund, allows institutional investors to gain exposure to bitcoin through shares in the trust, which now holds 654,600 BTC. That’s about 3% of the cryptocurrencys total supply. (Grayscale is a unit of Digital Currency Group, which also owns CoinDesk.)　　The institutional investors can buy into the fund at its net asset value – essentially, the value of the underlying bitcoin – but they are subject to a lockup period of six months. Because so many investors bought into the trust early this year, many of those lockups are now expiring, meaning more GBTC holders will soon be able to sell their shares on the secondary market.　　A widely cited report from the JPMorgan suggested that the GBTC “unlocks” might lead to “downward pressure on GBTC prices and on bitcoin markets more generally.” But cryptocurrency analysts and investors, including Amber Group and Arca Funds, have suggested that the GBTC unlockings might actually be good for bitcoin prices.　　According to a report from Kraken Intelligence, recent data indicates

2021-07-08Deep Dive

82% of Institutional Investors Plan to Increase Cryptocurrency Exposure: Survey

A survey by Nickel Digital Asset Management shows that 82% of institutional investors and wealth managers are planning to increase their cryptocurrency exposure between now and 2023.　　The survey reportedly asked institutional investors and wealth managers from the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and the UAE who currently have exposure to cryptocurrencies and digital assets about their crypto investment strategies. It was conducted between May and June.　　According to the results, 82% of respondents expect to increase their crypto exposure between now and 2023.　　40% said they will dramatically increase their crypto holdings, 7% said they would reduce their exposure, and 1% said they would sell their entire holdings of crypto assets.　　Responding to the question about their future crypto investment plans, 58% of respondents said that the main reason for investing is long-term capital growth prospects. Meanwhile, 38% said confidence in the asset class, and 37% said more leading corporates and fund managers investing in crypto assets. Moreover, 34% said an improved regulatory environment will be a key factor in increasing their crypto allocations.　　Anatoly Crachilov, co-founder and CEO of asset management firm Nickel Digital, was quoted by Institutional Asset Manager as saying: “The number of institutional investors and corporates holding bitcoin and other cryptoassets

2021-07-08Deep Dive

New Zealand to explore central bank digital currency as part of public consultations

New Zealands central bank is set to spend the coming months in public consultation on issues ranging from stablecoins to central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).　　The roadmap was detailed in a Wednesday statement and builds on previous work done in the area of future approaches to payments in New Zealand.　　The Reserve Bank of New Zealands Assistant Governor Christian Hawkesby said in a statement:　　“Well be considering not only what we should be doing as steward, but what a resilient and stable cash and currency system in New Zealand might look like, and how we might best respond to digital innovations in money and payments.”　　“The first consultation will introduce and seek feedback on the broad concepts of money and cash stewardship, and outline specific topics to be covered in the rest of the series,” he went on to say. “Subsequent papers will look at the potential for a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to work alongside cash as government-backed money, issues arising from new electronic money forms including crypto assets (such as BitCoin) and stable coins (such as proposed by a Facebook-led consortium), and how the cash system might need to change to continue to meet the needs of users.”　　A CBDC, according to

2021-07-08Deep Dive

Currency devaluation in Nigeria is driving a crypto boom in the country

Data from analytics firm Chainalysis shows that in May, Nigerians received a marked increase in crypto compared to last December.　　Observers say this is partly due to the central banks recent currency devaluation, which weakened the naira to its lowest ever level against the dollar.　　The resulting boom in crypto activity lends support to the idea that cryptocurrency provides a suitable fallback during times of economic strife.　　 Crypto is booming in Nigeria　　According to Chainalysis, the dollar volume of crypto received by Nigerians has been rising throughout 2020 and 2021.　　In May, Nigeria users received $2.4 billion worth of crypto, versus $684 million in December 2020.　　The CEO of BiTA, a crypto education startup, Udeaja Kingsley, pointed out that the trigger for this was the recent currency devaluation. He added that its mainly young people, through peer-to-peer trading, who are driving this trend.　　“Recently, the devaluation of our local currency [encouraged] people [to start] saving in crypto assets like bitcoin and ethereum.”　　“Mostly the youths that believe in it and are trading it via the means of P2P.”　　Like India, Nigeria has tried to stop cryptocurrency trading by threatening sanctions against financial entities that deal with crypto companies. In effect, blocking on/off ramping.　　This has resulted in a resurgence

2021-07-08Deep Dive

Israel Completes First Parliamentary NFT For New President Isaac Herzog

It seems that non-fungible tokens are everywhere these days and if you need evidence of that just look at todays Presidential inauguration ceremony in Israel. As the ceremony neared that Knesset, the legislative branch of the Israeli government, gifted the President-to-be a unique and personal NFT in honor of his momentous day. While the terms one-of-a-kind and groundbreaking have been used often to describe NFTs, this example really fits the bill on both fronts.　　The NFT that Herzog was gifted contained a copy of the original oath signs by his late father, Chaim Herzog, who served as Israels sixth president. This is significant for a number of reasons, most notably it marks the first time a parliament in the world has created its own NFT.　　Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy stated that “It is a great honor for the Knesset to implement one of the worlds most innovative technologies in order to preserve such a significant historical document for future generations.”　　 Details of the NFT　　The NFT oath reads “I am the son of Rabbi Yitzchak Isaac Halevi and Rebbetzin Sarah Herzog, and I pledge to maintain allegiance to the State of Israel and its laws and to faithfully fulfill my role as President.”

2021-07-08Deep Dive

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