Crypto Guides, Knowledge & Insights

Study Shows NFT Sales Plummeted 90% Over the Last 30 Days, NFT Wallets Dip 70%

According to a recent study, non-fungible token (NFT) sales have dive-bombed 90% since the markets record sales on May 3. Market data shows over 130,000 NFT sales that day and 30 days later sales are down to a touch over 84,000, dropping more than 35% last month.　　Protos.com Study Claims ‘NFT Bubble Has Popped’　　Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been all the rage in 2021 and sales continue to this day. However, a recent study published by protos.com indicates that NFT sales have been dropping and NFT sale values have plummeted as well. The report shows that last month $102 million in NFTs were sold on May 3 and the latest seven-day data shows only “$19.4 million in NFT sales were processed in the past week.”　　The protos.com study shows the NFT ecosystem saw a 90% drop from the May 3 high and only a few projects are continuing to sell.　　Weekly data via nonfungible.com　　Currently, projects like Cryptopunks and Hashmasks have been able to sustain sales, and market statistics from nonfungible.com reflect this fact. 30-day stats from nonfungible.com indicate there were 84,645 sales worth $134 million. Over 52,000 were primary sales and more than 32,000 were secondary sales.　　Monthly data via nonfungible.com　　The study also shows that

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Profits from Bull Market Can Be Eroded by Countless Traps!

Airdrops are usually implemented as a way of gaining attention in the field of blockchain-based currencies. Traders often focus on the profits generated from this operation but neglect pitfalls that lead them to great losses! Three tricks commonly used are summarized for you herein to raise your vigilance.　　Links aiming to get clients entrapped　　Swindlers send users a fake link in the name of airdrops, telling them that they can only receive airdrops by entering their mnemonic phrases or private keys, the content included by the private information that can cause them losses once divulged. In fact, this information is not necessary for real airdrops.　　Crypto tokens with rebates　　Some swindlers may play up their rebate projects, implying that you can receive Huobi Token (HT) worth several times more than that of Ethereum (ETH) that you have invested into their wallets. Although the value of HT can be withdrawn in the beginning, the operation becomes unsuccessful with the increase of ETH arriving in their wallets because all HT involved is fake, the contract address of which is not the official one.　　Target addresses being manipulated　　Many people just copy and paste wallet addresses when transferring money whereas target addresses can be manipulated sometimes, leading capital to

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Digital bank Anchorage offers Ethereum-backed loans to institutions

Institutional investors can get USD on credit without liquidating their ETH.　　Crypto custody bank Anchorage Digital is expanding its services into crypto-backed loans for institutional investors.　　Clients at Anchorage can now access a line of USD credit backed by Ethereum through its partnership with U.S. commercial bank BankProv.　　Anchorage Financing will introduce a simple way for investors to put their Ethereum holdings to work, enabling them to access USD to meet their needs without liquidating their holdings according to the announcement. The crypto custodian also offers staking services for additional yields on Ethereum　　The digital asset bank holds on to the ETH, using it as collateral should a client be unable to repay the dollar loan. Clients with large ETH holdings will be able to access a larger line of credit. Anchorage already provides Bitcoin-backed loans through other capital providers.　　Ethereum-backed loans may be under collateralized if the borrower passes appropriate risk due diligence checks according to Anchorage co-founder Diogo Mónica.　　Dave Mansfield, CEO of BankProv, said that Anchorages collateral management tech is “world-class”, adding that it is a trusted partner to the banking industry:　　“We firmly believe in our mission and belief that the crypto market should be afforded the same access and rights to traditional

2021-06-04Deep Dive

69,000 Potentially out of Pocket in Alleged South Korean Exchange Scam

Far more South Korean investors than previously thought appear to have been sucked into an alleged crypto scam revolving around the V Global crypto exchange.　　As reported last month, police said that “mainly pensioners and housewives” had been the victims of the suspected fraud. Officers in Seoul and elsewhere swept on 22 locations, including the exchanges offices and the homes of its executives.　　Police initially feared some 40,000 people may have deposited their fiat and crypto in the exchanges wallets and bank accounts, but per Maeil Kyungjae, the latest police figures show a much higher estimate – with some 69,000 investors thought to have invested their funds on the platform.　　A 31-year-old man surnamed Lee is thought to be the chief mastermind behind the platform, which has so far failed to respond to Cryptonews.com requests for comment.　　Lee was reportedly investigated as part of a criminal probe into the use of illegal multi-level marketing (MLM) methods while working at another and non-defunct domestic crypto exchange in summer 2020.　　The V Global website appears to be functioning as normal, with posts about trading updated as recently as June 2 – but no mention of the police investigation.　　Police think up the financial damages could rise as high

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Elon Musk is Back at Trolling Bitcoin Again, Market Registers a Slump

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur is back at what he does the best, tweeting about Bitcoin and trolling the top cryptocurrency despite knowing his tweets often impact the market. Musk today shared a meme which many interpreted as a hint about a possible breakup with the top cryptocurrency.　　The speculation about Tesla potentially selling its $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase has been rife ever since Musk announced the electric car maker has decided against accepting Bitcoin as a payment for its cars, just weeks after opening the Bitcoin payment option for US customers. Ever since then, Musk has gone on a wild Bitcoin trolling spree which many believed led to panic selling among amateur traders and resulted in a market crash.　　The Bitcoin price crash in May left many speculating whether Tesla has dumped its share, but Musk tweeted that the company has ‘diamond hands’ a popular slang in crypto-verse that indicates holding on to ones Bitcoin even during market turmoil. But, his latest tweet has brought back the Tesla Bitcoin dump discussion again.　　 Bitcoin Price Slide Below $38K　　Bitcoin price reacted to Elon Musk‘s tweet today and slumped by 3% over the past hour after his tweet. The price of Bitcoin slid below

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Norton 360 Antivirus Set to Launch Ethereum-Mining Platform & Wallet

Mining Ethereum (ETH) is said to be getting safer in the coming weeks as NortonLifeLock, the cybersecurity company behind popular antivirus software Norton 360, announced a new feature which will enable the platform users to mine ether.　　A new product titled Norton Crypto promises to deliver a new way for everyone to mine Ethereum. It will come together will Norton Crypto Wallet that will be stored in the cloud as a protection against hard drive failure, the company said.　　Norton Crypto product is expected to become available to all Norton 360 customers in the coming weeks. Select customers in the early adopter program start being invited today. Either way, the customers may require “certain PC hardware” to use this service, said the company.　　Norton argued that many miners often have to take risks in order to earn crypto, including but not limited to disabling their computer security and allow running unvetted code on their machines that could be “skimming from their earnings or even planting ransomware.”　　Besides, the earnings from mining activities are often stored on hard drives, where digital wallets may be easily compromised or lost due to hardware failure.　　“As the crypto economy continues to become a more important part of our customers‘

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Here’s 3 ways the relative strength index (RSI) can be used as a sell signal

A trade is profitable only if both the purchase and the sale are done at the right time. Many times, traders sell their positions too early and leave profits on the table or they keep holding on to the trade even after the trend changes. This leads to profits evaporating, and many times the trade turns into a loss.　　While it is important to trade with the trend, it is also important to keep an eye out for signs of a reversal. If traders learn to spot these warning signs, they can avoid buying at the tops and selling at the bottoms, which is a common experience for many new traders.　　One tool that can help traders spot trend reversals is the relative strength index (RSI) indicator.　　 RSI basics　　The RSI is a momentum oscillator that measures the magnitude of recent price changes and as it moves between 0 and 100. Generally, it is used to spot the overbought and oversold levels on any asset.　　An asset is deemed to be overbought when it exceeds its intrinsic value, either in the short term or long term, and this is an early sign that it could be vulnerable to a correction.　　Similarly, oversold readings suggest that

2021-06-04Deep Dive

DOJ to Give Ransomware Attacks Same Priority as Terrorism: Report

In brief　　The US Department of Justice will elevate ransomware hacks with to a similar priority level as terrorism, Reuters reports.　　Recent high-profile ransomware attacks have affected the supply of meat and gas nationwide.　　In the wake of ransomware attacks against Colonial Pipeline and the meat processing company JBS, the US Department of Justice will elevate ransomware to a similar priority level as terrorism, Reuters reports.　　Ransomware is a type of malicious software that can freeze or otherwise disable a network until a ransom is paid. A Russian hacker group called DarkSide used ransomware against Colonial Pipeline last month, taking out much of the East Coasts oil and gas supply. The company reportedly paid a multi-million dollar ransom in Bitcoin.　　Earlier this week, another Russian group called REvil used ransomware against JBS, taking out meat plants nationwide. The company has not disclosed whether it paid out a ransom.　　Ransomware hackers tend to demand payment in cryptocurrency, since its relatively easy to obscure the paper trail. DarkSide reportedly takes payment in both Bitcoin and Monero (a privacy coin). According to data from the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the amount of crypto extorted from ransomware attacks grew 311% last year alone.　　Reuters also reports that US attorneys offices across

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Why On-Chain Governance Is Critical for Blockchain Growth and Longevity

The decentralized properties that make blockchain architecture unique can also be its Achilles heel, demonstrating the importance of bringing network governance on-chain to promote a more inclusive and democratized consensus on network upgrades.　　Governance Transformation Is the Key To Unlocking Decentralizations Innovative Potential　　There are many bitter arguments over blockchains, whether involving how they should be run, the consensus mechanisms, implementing changes, or upgrading the frameworks. These debates have often put network communities at odds, creating schisms that eventually unfolded in hard forks. Despite the success of these consensus systems as evidenced by rising transactions and valuations, Bitcoin and Ethereums future could be in doubt.　　The term consensus has to do with everything enshrined in code for the two largest networks, like transfers of value, how much miners get paid, smart contract operations, and other basic network-coded functionality. Unfortunately, that means that network consensus is not a part of addressing any severe problems or implementing even the tiniest upgrades. This parallel governance process often occurs exclusively off-chain in a highly politicized manner.　　For evidence to support this very point, just look at the aftermath of the Ethereum Classic debacle. Or consider the amount of time it has taken Ethereum to update its consensus mechanism

2021-06-04Deep Dive

Former U.S. congressman Ron Paul says legalize Bitcoin and ‘let it compete with dollar’

Ron Paul, former 12-term US Congressman from Texas, warned about the intricacies of the current inflation and the governments crackdown on crypto in an interview for Kitco News.　　The former presidential candidate argued his case for the legalization of Bitcoin (BTC), advocating free market and competition, as he warned about the consequences of Federal Reserve (Fed) policies.　　Gold and Bitcoin　　Corona-charged inflation due to unchecked money printing from the Fed is going to be detrimental for the economy, according to Paul. He pointed out that governments have controlled the money for centuries and are not going to give it up, adding that “one of the most appealing aspects of crypto is the absence of government and central banking.”　　The debasement of the dollar caused rising interest in Bitcoin as a safe-haven asset, but Paul is particularly concerned about that. According to him, “the dollar will stick around, but won‘t be worth much,” leading to the government’s crackdown on cryptocurrency.　　He applied the same concern to Bitcoin as to gold, referring to Roosevelts move from 1933, which imposed limitations on gold ownership in the US under the pretense that the depression caused “hoarding” of gold and was stalling economic growth.　　The order was repealed during the Ford

2021-06-04Deep Dive