Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Goldman Begins Trading on JPMorgan’s Repo Blockchain Network

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has joined the blockchain-based network created by JPMorgan Chase & Co. for repurchase agreements that use smart contracts and a digitized version of the U.S. dollar.　　Its first trade came on June 17, when it swapped a tokenized version of a U.S. Treasury bond for JPMCoin, JPMorgan‘s internal representation of a digital dollar, according to Mathew McDermott, global head of digital assets for Goldman’s global markets division. He declined to give the value of the trade.　　“We see this as a pivotal moment for the digitization of transactional activity,” McDermott said Tuesday in an interview. Unlike in the traditional repo market, the exact amount of time the banks took to complete the transaction was quantifiable. In this case, it was 3 hours and 5 minutes.　　Knowing the precise time is a big step up from the current market, as is the way the collateral and cash are interchanged simultaneously and immediately, McDermott said.　　“We pay interest per the minute,” he said. “We firmly think this will change the nature of the intraday marketplace.”　　JPMorgan created the new repo market using its version of the Ethereum blockchain, with its first trades in December. It has since gone on to trade more than

2021-06-23Deep Dive

Story from Markets MicroStrategy’s Most Recent Bond Drops Below Par as Bitcoin Sells Off

MicroStrategy‘s latest bond to finance the company’s additional purchase of bitcoin is now trading below its face value as the price of the cryptocurrency continues to decline.　　Prices on the $500 million bond, which closed on June 15, dropped almost three points after the company said on Monday that it completed its purchase of 13,005 bitcoin at an average price of $37,617. Bitcoin was trading at around $32,780 as of press time.　　On Tuesday, the price on the bond was trading at 97.75 cents on the dollar, down from 100.62 on Friday, according to Trace, a bond pricing service.　　Yields were at 6.53% on Tuesday, 40.5 basis points higher than its coupon rate of 6.125%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.　　The bond, which is due 2028, is guaranteed by the new bitcoin MicroStrategy bought and any other digital assets the company acquires in the future.　　Meanwhile, another of the Virginia-based software companys debt instruments, a $1.05 billion convertible bond, was trading at at 68.76, down from 74.23 on Friday.　　If bitcoins price remains at its current level of $32,668, the company will need to write down roughly $64 million for its recent bitcoin purchase.　　At last count, MicroStrategy held 105,085 bitcoin. The company has

2021-06-23Deep Dive

Is There A Silver Lining to China’s Ban on Crypto?

IN BRIEF　　Chinese crypto ban in the past has been followed by a market rebound as seen in 2017.　　In 2017 China banned all crypto exchanges in August, but the market bounced to new ATHs in November.　　China banned bitcoin and crypto again this year with several weeks of state-driven crackdown on trading and mining operations in the country. However, this is not the first time when the worlds most populated state has done so, earlier in 2013 and 2017 also China imposed a similar ban on cryptocurrencies.　　The recent sell-off is being attributed to the Chinese crackdown but there is a silver lining to it. Based on the historical data Bitcoin and altcoins have bounced back to new highs post-Chinese ban. Bobby Lee, the founder, and CEO of Ballet Bitcoin wallet highlighted that the Chinese bitcoin and crypto ban has often led to a market bottom following which the price has jumped to new highs.　　Lee explained that in 2017 China banned all exchanges in August right before the National Day celebrations on October 1 and the crypto market rebounded in November. Similarly, the 2021 crypto crackdown comes ahead of Communist Partys 100th founding anniversary scheduler for July 1.　　Has Crypto Market Hit Bottom？　　Lee explained

2021-06-23Deep Dive

How Archer Swap Has Helped End Ethereum’s Bidding War

Most DeFi users have heard of Ethereums high congestion issues, but few are aware of the controlling forces operating behind the scenes, and how badly they can be impacted by this single problem. When traders send a regular transaction via the Ethereum network, it is susceptible to attacks from bots or front-running software run by entities seeking to profit from trader activity.　　Ethereums ecosystem is perhaps amongst the fastest growing in the crypto space. Thus, there are already many solutions that tackle this issue and operate for the benefit of the users and decentralized exchange (DEX) traders. Most of them have gone under the radar.　　Archer Swap is part of the Archer DAO, a project with features designed to mitigate the risks associated with sending transactions on Ethereum. It protects users from Miner Extractable Value (MEV) strategies, sandwich attacks, and front-running bots while maintaining a connection with Uniswap and SushiSwap, two of the most popular DEXs on Ethereum.　　In this sense, Archer Swap can be described as a DEX extension that enhances the trader experience on these dApps. This protocol combines two powerful sets of features that give traders improved operations on Ethereum – protecting them and making trades more cost-efficient.　　The first set

2021-06-23Deep Dive

Latest South Korean Tax Evasion Busts: Crypto Worth USD 47m Seized

The South Korean crackdown on high-band taxpayers who have used crypto purchases to hide the scale of their earnings from the taxman has rolled on to the affluent Gyeonggi Province, catching some big fish – with crypto confiscated from rich doctors and TV stars.　　Since gaining the powers they needed to access crypto exchange data in March this year, tax bodies across the country have been taking it in turn to pore over transaction records and tax declarations to look for discrepancies.　　Thus far, thousands of individuals and companies have been identified in the busts, which have seen tax bodies freeze accounts, seize tokens – and even liquidate in many instances.　　Earlier this year, the crackdown reached the capital Seoul, where authorities seized crypto from 1,566 individuals and 676 companies in the highest tax band. Some, including a mega-rich hospital owner, pleaded with the tax body to refrain from selling their coins, instead stumping up fiat to pay their outstanding tax bills.　　In areas like Daejeon, Gyeongju and South Gyeongsang Province, smaller numbers of offenders have also had their coins seized.　　But the latest busts – including those in Gyeonggi Province – appear to have snagged some major players.　　The province, which surrounds Seoul, is home

2021-06-23Deep Dive

Can SHIB Become Mainstream in Three Years?

Shiba Inu (SHIB) has become a smash hit recently, arousing numerous peoples desire for purchase. In this case, can it be mainstream in the upcoming three years？　　The worth of SHIB should be considered first. It played a role as a tip and charity and then was transformed from an aircoin to a well-known token featuring broader consensus. SHIB just took advantage of the popularity of Dogecoins and then made itself popular after drawing famous exchanges attention.　　Even the creator of SHIB himself was pessimistic about the future of this token, disposing half and sending the rest to Vitaly Dmitriyevich “Vitalik” Buterin, a Russian-Canadian programmer and writer who is best known as one of the co-founders of Ethereum, who shared the same view in this regard and sent all he received to others.　　Throughout the development of SHIB, grassroots cravings for wealth against the backdrop of inflation have been gratified by Elon Reeve Musk firmly supporting Dogecoins, Buterin receiving half of the whole SHIB token, extremely low price per unit, and stuff. All these have paved the way for the bullish trend embraced by SHIB.　　According to the Whitepaper and practical operation, the SHIB token has not generated any breakthroughs in technology or ecosystem

2021-06-22Deep Dive

Could Paraguay emerge as a Bitcoin mining hub after China crackdown?

Bitcoin miners were dealt a blow in May as the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council of China announced further controls on financial risk.　　The announcement was the latest in China‘s long-running friction with the cryptocurrency industry. But this time, given the Chinese Communist Party’s promotion of its digital yuan, it looks as though commercial operations, more specifically miners, are feeling the pinch and looking to move elsewhere.　　The release specifically mentioned cracking down on Bitcoin mining and trading within the bounds of controlling financial risk.　　“Promote the reform of small and medium financial institutions, focus on reducing credit risks, strengthen the supervision of platform enterprises financial activities, crack down on Bitcoin mining and trading behavior, and resolutely prevent the transmission of individual risks to the social field.”　　With Latin American countries coming on board with Bitcoin, could we see a shift in the geolocation of Bitcoin mining infrastructure？　　Bitcoin mining hash rate takes a tumble　　According to Reuters, Chinas crypto crackdown has already found its way to the western province of Sichuan, where authorities have ordered the closure of Bitcoin mining operations in the region.　　“The Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, and the Sichuan Energy Bureau issued a joint notice, dated Friday

2021-06-22Deep Dive

Grayscale Parent Company to Purchase Ethereum Classic Trust Shares Worth $50 Million

Grayscales parent company, Digital Currency Group (DCG), revealed that it was planning to authorize the purchase of shares of the Grayscale Ethereum Classic Trust (OTCQX: ETCG) worth up to $50 million.　　Digital Currency Group Doubles Down on Ethereum Classic　　The company made the announcement via a press release on Monday (June 21, 2021). According to DCG, it would purchase the ETCG shares on the open market using cash.　　The ETCG shares purchase authorization follows similar moves made in March and May 2021. In March, DCG announced the authorization purchase of its flagship product, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), worth up to $250 million. Later in May, Grayscales parent company increased the GBTC share purchase to $750 million.　　Grayscales interest in Ethereum Classic likely contributed to a major price rally for the token sometimes dubbed “the other Ethereum” back in April and early May. At the time, ETC outperformed Ether amid a parabolic price action advance also driven by retail hype and favorable social media sentiments.　　An excerpt from the announcement reads:　　“The share purchase authorization does not obligate DCG to acquire any specific number of shares in any period, and may be expanded, extended, modified, or discontinued at any time. The actual timing, amount and value of

2021-06-22Deep Dive

Hackathon challenges developers to build killer blockchain apps using JavaScript

A platform that allows blockchain applications to be built using JavaScript has invited developers and entrepreneurs with bright ideas to take place in an online hackathon.　　HackOnLisk aims to support innovation on the Lisk network as it moves to the Sapphire phase of its roadmap — marking the moment where different blockchains within its ecosystem can communicate with each other for the very first time.　　In order to enter, participants need to build a blockchain application using Lisk SDK 5.1.0, the latest release, and provide a URL to an open-source repository. Last but by no means least, a 10-minute video also has to be created that demonstrates the key features of the application, and explains them in a clear way.　　A total prize pool of up to $33,000 is up for grabs — and this is coupled with access to technical expertise from Lightcurve‘s development team, as well as Lisk’s own core community. Individuals and organizations are welcome to get involved, and talented developers can also band together to form a team if they prefer.　　 How the hackathon works　　About 200 participants have already thrown their hats into the ring. The deadline for submissions to HackOnLisk is July 9, and winners will be announced

2021-06-22Deep Dive

Malta Chamber of Commerce business unit responds to allegations of lax crypto oversight

A business unit within Maltas Chamber of Commerce has struck down allegations that the country failed to uphold proper regulatory oversight of cryptocurrency businesses in its early embrace of the industry in 2017 and 2018.　　The Virtual Financial Assets Agents Business Unit of the Malta Chamber of Commerce responded to a Sunday report from the Times of Malta alleging that global financial regulators are concerned about money laundering and lax regulatory oversight of crypto businesses within the country. Specifically, sources close to a recent Financial Action Task Force meeting in Paris told the daily newspaper that regulators believe Maltas fast-tracking of crypto businesses came at the expense of proper due diligence.　　“It must be reiterated that the VFA Framework, which falls under the responsibility of the MFSA as competent authority in terms of the VFA Act, regulates the crypto industry at a very high standard,” the Agents said in a written response that was shared with Cointelegraph. They continued:　　“The licensing process, which is managed by the MFSA, is very rigorous, with a double-layered approval system consisting of licensed VFA Agents and the MFSA itself ensuring that only legal entities operating at a highly qualitative level are approved by the MFSA and allowed

2021-06-22Deep Dive

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Goldman Begins Trading on JPMorgan’s Repo Blockchain Network

Story from Markets MicroStrategy’s Most Recent Bond Drops Below Par as Bitcoin Sells Off

Is There A Silver Lining to China’s Ban on Crypto?

How Archer Swap Has Helped End Ethereum’s Bidding War

Latest South Korean Tax Evasion Busts: Crypto Worth USD 47m Seized

​Can SHIB Become Mainstream in Three Years?

Could Paraguay emerge as a Bitcoin mining hub after China crackdown?

Grayscale Parent Company to Purchase Ethereum Classic Trust Shares Worth $50 Million

Hackathon challenges developers to build killer blockchain apps using JavaScript

Malta Chamber of Commerce business unit responds to allegations of lax crypto oversight

Can SHIB Become Mainstream in Three Years?