Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

The rise of NFTs must be accompanied by further decentralization

The rise of the nonfungible token (NFT) has been a sight to behold, with the market seemingly garnering an increased amount of mainstream traction with each passing day. To put things into perspective as to how big this space has actually become, conservative estimates suggest that the amount of money that has entered into this fast-evolving sector currently totals above $500 million.　　Another way to gauge the impact that NFTs have had on the global economy is by looking at the diverse range of artists, celebrities, musicians — basically just about anyone, at this point — that have adopted this technology. For example, thrash metal pioneers Megadeth recently became one of the latest adopters of NFTs, allowing supporters to purchase unique collectibles that are officially endorsed by the band. This just goes to show how widespread the reach of this technology has become almost overnight.　　Additionally, what makes NFTs so unique is the fact that they cannot be swapped for other tokens in a mutually interchangeable fashion. This is contrary to both how most fiat assets work — i.e., a U.S. dollar can be swapped for a variety of goods — as well as how most cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Survey Shows 45% of Teens Think They Know More than Parents About Crypto

A recent study has shown that nearly half of teenagers believe they know more about cryptocurrencies than their parents.　　Financial services company Wells Fargo was responsible for the study, published on June 2. 314 teenagers aged between 13 and 17 took part in the survey, alongside 304 parents with children the same age.　　The study reported that while 57% of teenagers still primarily turn to their parents for advice on money and finances, 35% of them also learn from social media. More specifically to cryptocurrency, 45% of the teenagers surveyed believed they knew more about cryptocurrency than their parents. 50% of the participating parents believed the same thing.　　Furthermore, the survey indicated that more boys (58%) would say they knew more than their parents regarding crypto than girls (33%).　　On the social media front, subsequent reports indicate that teens turn to TikTok among other social media platforms for education on cryptocurrency. Mariana Martinez, family dynamics consultant with Wells Fargos Wealth & Investment Management group, explained:　　“Social media has a profound influence on our younger generations. Those generations grew up with social media and often trust many of the platforms more than their parents do.”　　TikTok is a hotbed of content relating to bitcoin (BTC) and other

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Polygon’s Daily Transaction Volumes Exceeds Ethereum (ETH) and Binance Smart Chain (BSC)

Blockchain network Polygon has been in the news for quite a while now and it continues to hit new milestones. The Polygon network has hit a new record-high in daily transaction volumes shotting to a massive 7.4 million. Interesting, Polygons transaction volumes have exceeded that of giants like Ethereum (ETH) and the Binance Smart Chain (BSC).　　Polygon, a layer-2 scalability solution for Ethereum, hosts a small DeFi application ecosystem which has registered a steady growth in recent times. Besides, Polygons network and transaction growth has been stable and organic since most of the Defi has already been tested on Ethereum.　　However, Ethereum‘s persisting issues with network congestion and high gas fee has forced several DeFi players to consider alternative solutions and the Polygon’s sidechain solution emerging as a hot destination. This was the same reason that the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) also gained strong traction earlier this year.　　A Look Into Polygons DApp Ecosystem　　Although the Polygon network holds a small DeFi application ecosystem, the good thing is that the projects on this platform have been earlier tested on the Ethereum network. Below is a quick snapshot of the number of users for the core DApps available on Ethereum.　　Courtesy: Nansen.ai　　As we can see in

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Asset Management Firm Makes $1 Billion Profit by HODLing Bitcoin for 5 Months

U.K.-based investment management firm Ruffer made a quick buck HODLing bitcoin for five months.　　Ruffer Makes Quick Money on Bitcoin　　According to a report by The Times published on June 6, investment management company Ruffer is said to have made a whopping $1 billion in five months from investing in bitcoin. The firm added it sold a huge chunk of bitcoin quickly because “younger people wouldnt be spending so much time trading now that the lockdowns are ending.”　　Per Hamish Baillie, an investment director at Ruffer, the firm had initially invested about $600 million in BTC in November 2020.　　“When the price doubled we took some profits for our clients in December and early January. We actively managed the position and by the time we sold the last tranche in April the total profit was slightly more than $1.1 billion.”　　Notably, the aforementioned ordeal also make Ruffle the first fund manager to purchase bitcoin in what could only be dubbed a short-term play banking on bitcoins infamous yet profitable volatility.　　According to Baillie, the stilmulus checks sent by the U.S. government to all its citizens at the peak of the lockdown led to younger people spending it on assets such as bitcoin. Baillie added that financial

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Satoshi’s Statue in Budapest: What Other Crypto Legends Deserve a Monument?

The proposed statue in honour of Satoshi Nakamoto has been hailed by the cryptocurrency ecosystem as a move in the right direction.　　The statue is to be erected in Graphisoft Park, in the Hungarian capital of Budapest.　　While the proposed monument has elicited commendations, there are other legends, aside from Nakamoto, equally deserving of a monument.　　Nick Szabo, Wei Dai, and David Chaum are each worthy of recognition for their stellar contributions to the field of cryptocurrency.　　Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, is set to be immortalized in the city of Budapest. A statue in his honour is in the works for the conception of Bitcoin, which laid the foundation for other cryptocurrencies to be launched.　　Although he is undoubtedly a core catalyst to the cryptoverse, the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto is not the only one that deserves a monument to his name. Several early computer scientists, such as Nick Szabo, Wei Dai, and David Chaum, have all played a role in the creation of cryptocurrency, and have thus earned the “legend” status.　　Nick Szabo　　It is undeniable that Nick Szabo has attained veteran status in cryptocurrency circles, with his involvement in the sector going back as far as 1998, when he designed

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Green Bitcoin: The impact and importance of energy use for PoW

To achieve the goal of a green Bitcoin network, crypto mining companies should push for production with less use of fossil fuels.　　While writing the worlds most famous white paper, Satoshi Nakamoto defined the Bitcoin (BTC) mining process. It was established that the minting of new coins would take place through proof-of-work. To carry out this verification and to be able to mine the cryptocurrency, computers would need to solve complex mathematical calculations.　　In the beginning, there were not many miners. However, that changed before the first Bitcoin bull run. Mining competition skyrocketed, causing a sharp increase in the cost of machines capable of competing. Even more importantly, energy demand exploded with the new machines — which needed energy mainly for processing and cooling.　　After eight years, the energy demand for mining Bitcoin has grown — and today has reached 116.71 terawatt-hours per year, according to data from the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, or CBECI. At first glance, this seems like a lot, right？ But lets take a closer look at the data to gain a better understanding of the real impact that Bitcoin mining has on the environment.　　The use of energy in Bitcoin mining　　Some influencers have recently appeared on social media

2021-06-07Deep Dive

El Salvador Set To Become First-Ever Sovereign Nation To Recognize Bitcoin As Legal Tender

El Salvador caused a sensation during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami on Saturday afternoon.　　The country‘s president is poised to introduce a bill that will make it the world’s first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender alongside the United States dollar. This will help El Salvador unlock the endless benefits of bitcoin as an open network for the countrys public sector, its citizens, as well as businesses on an everyday basis.　　“The Shot Heard Round The World For Bitcoin” 　　President Nayib Bukele announced a collaborative partnership with Bitcoins Lightning Network-powered Venmo, Strike, while speaking during the Bitcoin 2021 conference. Bukele and Strike are working on a plan to use bitcoin technology to build the countrys innovative financial infrastructure.　　“This is the shot heard round the world for bitcoin”, Jack Mallers, the founder and CEO of Strike said, adding:　　“Whats transformative here is that bitcoin is both the greatest reserve asset ever created and a superior monetary network. Holding bitcoin provides a way to protect developing economies from potential shocks of fiat currency inflation.”　　In addition to helping El Salvador shift from a largely cash economy, adopting bitcoin as a legal tender will also give the country the most secure and globally integrated open-source

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Norway Finance Minister Sees Great Interest in Cryptocurrency — Says Bitcoin Could See Breakthroughs

The finance minister of Norway believes that bitcoin may experience “breakthroughs.” He noted that “There is no doubt that there is great interest in cryptocurrency both in Norway and internationally.”　　Bitcoin May See Breakthroughs, Says Finance Minister of Norway　　The finance minister of Norway, Jan Tore Sanner, suggested in an interview last week that “cryptocurrencies will at some point move past the volatility for which they‘re currently known and experience a period of ’breakthroughs,” Bloomberg reported. He was quoted as saying:　　“It is clear that there may be a development over time, whereby you will be able to get more stabilization mechanisms in the currencies that can lead to greater breakthroughs and upheavals in the slightly longer term.”　　However, he noted that for the time being, cryptocurrency is not a market he would recommend consumers to enter.　　The finance minister added that he does not believe crypto assets will go mainstream until they are properly regulated, mentioning that cryptocurrencies are also “popular with criminals.”　　Nonetheless, Sanner said people should be free to make their own decision whether to invest in bitcoin but emphasized that the cryptocurrency is not yet ready to be used as a substitute for money. He opined:　　“There is no doubt that there is

2021-06-07Deep Dive

Vitalik Buterin Says People Difficulties Not Technical Difficulties Slowed the Ethereum 2.0 Rollout

The cofounder of Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, recently discussed the highly anticipated full transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus model to proof-of-stake (PoS) as its replacement. Buterin admitted at Hong Kong‘s Startmeup HK 2021 Festival that the transition was taking too long and highlighted that it wasn’t technical problems but “related to people.”　　Buterin: If You Build a Team, It Is Important to Know Who You Are Working With　　Vitalik Buterin has discussed the anticipated Ethereum 2.0 transition during the Startmeup HK 2021 Festival in Hong Kong this past week. The Ethereum cofounder detailed that he understood the changes were taking a long time and said that it was mostly people deterring the improvements.　　“One of the biggest problems I‘ve found with our project is not the technical problems, it’s problems related with people,” Buterin said during his interview with Forkast news. “Ethereum is now in a better economic position, but it took us five years to get to where we are now. We have a lot of internal team conflicts in these five years. If you are building a team, it is important to know who you are working with.”　　When Buterin was asked about Ethereum 2.0, he said that the developers have been

2021-06-05Deep Dive

Will The Bitcoin Miami Conference Be A Catalyst For Recovery?

The market needs a boost, that much is for sure. Luckily, the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami is just around the corner. Would that be enough to wake up the sleeping giant？ It might. It might now. Nevertheless, for sure it‘ll raise morale and give to the community and experience to rally around. And that’s whats going to take us to the next level.　　In any case, Vailshire Capital‘s Jeff Ross gives us the technical analysis of the historical moment we’re facing.　　As for predictions, Ross is “Still noncommittal.” The situation remains as Bitcoinist told you recently:　　Were in the midst of it. In retrospect, everything will make sense, but right now no human being has the necessary perspective to see the whole picture.　　New addition to the Bitcoin Miami lineup　　Even though the event is mostly sold out, the organizers dropped a huge bomb yesterday. Bitcoin Magazine and company announced an interview with the one and only Ross Ulbricht, live from jail. The Dread Pirate Roberts himself, the creator and main mind behind the legendary Silk Road marketplace in the darknet. Hate it or love it, an essential part of Bitcoins history.　　In a shocking verdict that‘s still being contested, Ulbricht was sentenced to double

2021-06-04Deep Dive

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