Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Decentralized stablecoin’s sharding solution brings scalability to Bitcoin

Jax.Network is a sharded proof-of-work blockchain anchored to the Bitcoin network on which two coins are mined: JAX and JAXNET (JXN). JXN is mined on the Jax.Network beacon chain, whereas JAX is mined on its shard chains.　　JXN coin mining produces a fixed number of reward coins (20 coins per block), making it a speculative asset that reflects the value of the Jax.Network payments ecosystem. It is used to incentivize Bitcoin miners to merge mine Jax.Network and defend the beacon chain, to pay for gas fees for decentralized exchange agent listings and other transactions, and more broadly to serve as a secondary savings account for Bitcoin miners. In the long term, the company says it will incentivize BTC miners to continue defending the network even if the BTC mining rewards move closer to zero.　　JAX is the stablecoin, intended to be used for day-to-day transactions. Its shard chains are created as the miners determine they are needed, enabling the Jax.Network blockchain to scale in a virtually limitless fashion.　　JAX relies on merge mining, piggybacking on Bitcoin, to create a highly scalable, market-driven cryptocurrency that incentivizes miners while gaining the security of the largest PoW blockchain. It also avoids the excessive gas fees of

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Bipartisan bill to study blockchain and crypto passes US House of Representatives

A bipartisan bill that requires the study of blockchain technology and digital tokens passed the House of Representatives on June 22.　　The Consumer Safety Technology Act is centered on consumer protection and includes digital token and blockchain research. The bill passed the 117th Congress within a week of its introduction, with a resounding 325 votes in favor of, and 103 votes against.　　This is not the first time this bill has reached this point however, and under the Trump administration, the bill passed the House in September 2020. It was then referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation before being shot down in the Senate.　　Among other things, the bill calls for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to deploy a pilot AI program to aid consumer safety inspections, such as identifying consumer product hazards and tracking trends related to injuries involving consumer products.　　Additionally, it calls for the Secretary of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to “study and report on the use of blockchain technology and digital tokens.”　　Democrat representative for Californias 9th district, Jerry McNerney sponsored the bill, which was co-sponsored by Democrat Darren Soto, along with Republicans Warren Davidson, Van Taylor, Michael Burgess, and Brett Guthrie.　　The Consumer Safety Technology

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Winklevoss-Led Exchange Launches Gemini Green to Help Decarbonize Bitcoin

The cryptocurrency trading venue run by the Winklevoss twins – Gemini – intends to offset its own carbon emissions.　　The US cryptocurrency exchange – Gemini – announced a long-term initiative called Gemini Green, aiming to add environmentally conscious practices into its business. The trading venue partnered up with Climate Vault and plans to purchase 350,000 metric tons of carbon – a move striving to decarbonize bitcoin.　　The Crypto Platform That Will Offset Its Own Emissions　　Gemini – the crypto trading venue founded by the Winklevoss twins Cameron and Tylor – announced in a press release that it had launched Gemini Green. Its mission would be to solve Bitcoins environmental issues by decarbonizing it.　　“As bitcoin emerges as a dominant store of value, its imperative that we incorporate sustainability for future generations. We are proud to team up with Climate Vault to offset our exposure to non-renewable mining and contribute to the decarbonizing of bitcoin.” – commented Tylor Winklevoss.　　The partner of the exchange in the initiative is the non-profit Climate Vault. This collaboration would allow the crypto platform to acquire carbon permits directly from government-regulated cap-and-trade markets and remove them from circulation. Michael Greenstone – co-founder of Climate Vault – noted:　　“Slowing and ultimately reversing the

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Beeple Launches NFT Site That Highlights Notable Moments in History

After breaking the internet at selling a piece of NFT art for $69 million, Beeple is back in the news announcing the launch of a new blockchain platform. The platform, called WeNew, allows artists to create NFTs to authenticate digital art as one-of-a-kind offers.　　Pitchfork founder, Ryan Schreiber, will serve as the editor-in-chief of WeNew and will be tasked with curating the moments to be sold. The iconic moments will highlight the worlds of art, fashion, politics, and sports.　　In the press release, Beeple stated his optimism on the NFT world. “NFTs represent a new paradigm, not just in how people can invest their money but in how we conceive of our shared experience and how we celebrate remarkable achievements.” Beeple goes on to talk about his belief that NFTs will give people a way to digitally engage with moments that matter to them.　　The WeNew platform uses the Ethereum blockchain to offer NFTs in both single and multiple edition releases. The software also supports both auction formats and direct sales at any price point. The NFT digital art is only part of the buyer experience as WeNew‘s website claims that buyers will experience a “comprehensive editorial experience” to complement each piece. The

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Bitcoin Miners to See Biggest-Ever Increase in Profitability

According to Slush Pool, the oldest cryptocurrency mining pool, Bitcoins difficulty may reach a maximum negative adjustment of 25 percent based on recent block times.　　The important metric determines how hard it is for miners to find new blocks and earn rewards.　　As of now, a 20 percent drop is on the cards. It would already be the cryptocurrencys biggest difficulty adjustment ever, which will in turn translate into the biggest increase in profits.　　Slush Pool estimates that the profitability of the remaining ASIC miners will skyrocket beyond the most optimistic projections for 2021:　　While hundreds of thousands of ASICs sit idle in trucks, cargo ships, planes, and warehouses, those that remain online become more valuable.　　For instance, the Antminer S19 Pro will be able to churn out 86,700 satoshis per day following the upcoming difficulty adjustment that will take place in about a week.　　Bitcoins hashrate revisits post-halvening levels　　Bitcoins hashrate has tanked to 83.4 EH/s, its lowest level since May 26, 2020, according to data provided by BitInfoCharts.　　This represents a 51 percent drop since the May 13 all-time high of 171 EH/s.　　Image by bitinfocharts.com　　Xinjiang and Sichuan, the two biggest mining hubs in China, both ordered local miners to shut up shop earlier this month.　　In a

2021-06-25Deep Dive

‘Tokenized’ Tesla, Google, and Apple shares are coming to Solana (SOL)

Digital Assets AG, a Swiss-based firm focusing on the design, structure, and issuance of tokenized financial instruments, today announced that it is bringing its tokenized stock infrastructure to the Solana blockchain.　　At launch, FTX will be the exclusive home for KYCd buyers and sellers in permitted jurisdictions to buy, sell and withdraw the 55 free-floating stocks in a year-round, uninterrupted trading cycle with near-instantaneous settlement and no counterparty risk. They will also be able to make transfers to secondary markets without restriction.　　Popular stocks that will be immediately available for trading include Facebook, Google, Netflix, Nvidia, PayPal, Square, and Tesla.　　“The move from operating on a private blockchain to operating on Solana will offer a much more efficient, and cost-effective environment for the trading and utilization of tokenized stocks,” said Brandon Williams, Corporate Development Lead at Digital Assets AG, in a statement.　　He added, “We envision the entirety of traditional finance and capital markets being able to operate on the blockchain and Solana was the obvious choice.”　　Trading stonks on Solana　　Tokenized stocks can currently be traded on a singular entity such as an exchange or private blockchain and only give users the option to open or close positions.　　These are, however, restricted by constraints such as

2021-06-25Deep Dive

New York City to Become the ‘Center of Bitcoins,’ Promised Mayoral Front Runner

The number of US city mayors, whether current or running, supporting bitcoin continues to grow. After Miamis Francis Suarez, the favorite to win the race in New York City, Eric Adams, promised to make NYC different in a year, including becoming the “center of bitcoins.”　　BTC Going to NYC？　　Running as a Democrat, Eric Adams is a polarizing figure that managed to get ahead in the race through an old-school strategy by receiving support from Black and Latino voters with unions.　　Although roughly 70% of voters didnt make him their first choice, the new and controversial voting system in the city has made him the favorite. The latest polls showed a lead of over 75,000 votes over Maya Wiley.　　Apart from making the usual political promises of lowering crime rates and creating new jobs, he also outlined a somewhat unexpected strategy, which he believes will bring back economic prosperity to one of the worlds most important cities.　　During a recent speech, he spoke about his intentions to turn New York City into a technology hub, and he even briefly mentioned the largest cryptocurrency – bitcoin.　　“Im going to promise you in one year, you are going to see a different city. We are going to become

2021-06-25Deep Dive

JPMorgan says Bitcoin may dump to $25,000, cites Grayscale’s GBTC unlocks

JPMorgan analysts say the upcoming ‘unlock’ of a popular Bitcoin fund could cause further selling of spot BTC, driving the prices of the worlds largest cryptocurrency by market cap to as low as $25,000.　　“While weak flows and price dynamics resulting from last month‘s selloff fueled Bitcoin’s recent declines, possible sales of shares in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust upon the expiry of a six-month lockup period could be an additional headwind,” wrote analyst Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou in a client, as per a report on Bloomberg.　　Bitcoin has fallen nearly 50% over the past few months from a mid-April high of $64,800. It trades at $34,000 at press time, with technicals suggesting an overall bearish market for now.　　How Grayscale affects Bitcoin　　Grayscales products are a crucial part of the broader crypto market. These are publicly traded financial instruments that hold a small amount of spot crypto, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, in a custodial account for each share they offer on the open market.　　The product is largely aimed at high-networth individuals and institutional investors who may not want to interact with a shady crypto exchange (which may shut down overnight), or deal with custody their own crypto (imagine relying on yourself to safeguard millions of

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Government, Police to Inspect all 60 of South Korea’s Crypto Exchanges

The South Korean financial regulator is to radically step up its monitoring of the crypto industry – with an announcement that it is set to conduct inspections at all 60 of the nations crypto exchanges in conjunction with the police and independent IT inspectors.　　After being accused of dragging its feet and “neglecting” the domestic crypto sector, Seoul earlier this year handed almost total control over the industry to the top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC).　　And the FSC has taken to its new role with apparent zeal, summoning the 30 leading exchanges to its headquarters on three different occasions. This group comprises exchanges that have either already obtained the necessary information security management system (ISMS) data protection certification needed in order to continue operating after September 24, or are in the process of obtaining certification. After September 24, exchanges without ISMS, banking contracts and more will be forced to shut.　　Earlier this month, media outlets reported that the FSC had conducted a week-long “due diligence” on-the-spot check at one of Seouls biggest exchanges. But now it appears that the FSC wants to go a step further. After a raft of smaller exchanges that appear to have no intention of applying

2021-06-25Deep Dive

Former European Central Bank President Says Crypto Needs “Absolute Transparency”

During his Thursday appearance on France 24, French economist Jean-Claude Trichet—who has served as President of the European Central Bank from 2003 to 2011—said that there is a need for “absolute transparency” in crypto.　　Trichet raised concerns over criminal activities associated with cryptocurrencies:　　“As long as these transactions are not transparent, they are paving the way for any criminal activity. It‘s unacceptable. It’s not considered appropriate…”　　The former ECB head added that “the real cryptocurrencies” will be issued by central banks.　　He highlighted that 58 central banks around the world were already working on their own digital currencies.　　On June 23, the Bank for International Settlements threw its support behind CBDCs, underlying their role in modernizing finance.　　Trichet has routinely trashed Bitcoin in the past. Back in November 2019, he said that it “wasnt real.”Earlier this year, he also dismissed the top cryptocurrency as “pure speculation.”

2021-06-25Deep Dive

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